In the framework of the National Strategy for the Sustainable Management and Development of Medicinal & Aromatic Plants (MAPs), ProFound consultants Bert-Jan Ottens and Gustavo Ferro headed to Morocco last October for a two-week mission. During these two weeks, ProFound combined efforts with the other project partners and acted on two main fronts: engaging with the private sector and elaborating a resource assessment strategy for the project species (rosemary, thyme, pyrethrum, and oregano). The mission encompassed strategic meetings, field and company visits and workshops.
During the field visits, ProFound accompanied the project team to cooperatives and wild collection areas in East Morocco, where rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) occurs. A number of herb processing/exporting companies were also visited in this occasion, whereby they were introduced to the project objectives and to the FairWild certification.
The workshops carried out during this mission involved several cooperatives, companies and other relevant organisations active in the Moroccan MAP sector. As such, these various actors had the opportunity to give their inputs for the next steps of the project. One of the follow-up activities is the visit of a number of Moroccan cooperatives and companies to BioFach 2014, where they will get first-hand contact with the international market.