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Moroccan Agricultural Practices Part 3 The plants, A visit to the oasis

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We continued our drive through Tiout (past the women‘s argan cooperative) to reach the oasis on the outskirts of the small town. The one lane road going through the town was narrow with few people. Donkeys were here and there, stray cats, occasional mopeds and bicycles with cars being the rarest form of transport.

Kasbah (above)

We hiked up to the historical Kasbah (residence of a former government representative) that permitted scenic views of the Souss-Massa-Draa valley as sunset approached.

Oasis

The oasis is a traditional form of agricultural practice found in desert regions oftentimes along rivers in valleys. These are not a “mirage” but I can see why it would be exciting and life saving for traveling caravans of years past to come across lush vegetation with a water source – especially after desert travel. By the way, we are not talking about any old desert here, we are talking about the Sahara! The Sahara is the largest hot/dry desert on Earth and it is about the size of the continental US.

To be clear, Tiout is not part of the Sahara but it is close enough to be described as north Saharan steppe desert.

How can lush vegetation exist in desert areas? The answer involves ingenuity of ancient people that continues to the present time. 

Harvesting rain water runoff is practiced but it is not enough. Water is mainly accessed by digging holes into the mountain sides to access aquifers and allow gravity to carry the water in open air channels (ancient ones were known as khettara). Water may be stored in catch basins as shown here and then diverted to different small scale farms within the oasis. Payment for the water is accomplished on an hourly basis and depends upon the size of the farm (1-10 acres).

What are some common crops grown?

Main crops are cereals (wheat, corn, barley- 43% of cropland), legume forage crops, turnips, carrots, squash, trees such as date palm, pomegranate, orange, apple, olives, almonds, apricot, etc.

Threats to the Oasis Creates Greater Threats

Oases are important because they are agro-biodiversity hotspots (high plant and domestic animal biodiversity). There are concerns as Morocco modernizes increasing mass production of food by monoculture which, in turn,  threatens small scale oasis farmers.

Compounding the problem is that oases are the last line of defense against desertification (expansion of the Sahara desert) as droughts increase due to climate change.

 

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