“The tree of life,” “Mother’s best friend,” “Paradise Tree:” These are just a few of the names for the Moringa tree as translated from local languages around the world. In the past 10-15 years, development professionals and local nutrition experts have worked together to reintroduce this once plentiful tree to West African peoples. This marriage of “hard” science and local knowledge has amounted to tremendous benefits to populations consistently struggling with mal- and under-nourishment and vitamin deficiencies.
Moringa leaves contain remarkable amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, potassium, essential amino acids, and protein. As one development agency put it: “It’s like growing multi-vitamins at your doorstep.” Leaves can be added directly to the family meal or the leaves may be dried, pounded, and sifted to create a potent nutritional powder that can be added to sauces and tea.
It is not just the leaves that serve an important function. The seedpods are a popular addition to Indian cuisine. The bark, roots, and gum are used in traditional medicine. The West is beginning to take notice: In California, Kuli Kuli will soon begin mass production of “Moringa Superfood Bars.” The Body Shop recently introduced a line of Moringa beauty products, underscoring the multi-functional nature of this tree.
myAgro has joined the campaign by promoting the ways and uses of Moringa oleifera among its farmers. Earlier this year, farmers could earn 30 moringa seeds as an incentive for reaching an early savings deadline a month before input delivery – In total over 400 farmers received the moringa incentive (1/3 of our total farmers). We also provided training leading up to the incentive on the benefits of moringa on how different parts of the trees can be used. Farmers already had a good understanding of the medicinal benefits of moringa but they were excited to learn about the nutritional benefits as well. When an agent jokingly said it would make the men “strong” with a wink, there was a quick round of promises from the men to reach the incentive deadline.
For this next year, we’re looking at different uses of moringa – for shading land, and live fencing in addition to nutritional uses.
For more information, please see:
http://www.treesforlife.org/our-work/our-initiatives/moringa
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22043002
