Le mesquite (Prosopis spp.) est une plante indigène importante cultivée en Amérique du Sud, en Asie et en Afrique. Il s'agit d'un fruit d'origine locale appelé communément algarrobo en Argentine et au Pérou, et mezquite au Mexique.
Il est aujourd'hui urgent d'assurer une gestion rationnelle du prosopis pour préserver l'espèce. Une intervention dans ce domaine consisterait non seulement à limiter l'abattage des arbres et à replanter les zones déboisées, mais aussi à promouvoir l'utilisation du fruit. Le Pérou a exploité le prosopis avec un succès remarquable. Pour cette raison, le Gouvernement argentin a fait appel aux services de l'expert péruvien en CTPD, Mme Nora Grados.
Lors de son séjour en Argentine, Mme Grados a donné deux cours de formation sur la culture et l'utilisation du prosopis et transmis les connaissances acquises par son pays à quelque 80 participants: producteurs, personnel de l'Institut national des techniques agricoles (INTA), enseignants travaillant en zone rurale, techniciens d'établissements d'enseignement professionnel et vulgarisateurs.
La prosopis (Prosopis spp.) es un importante cultivo indígena de América del Sur, Asia y África. Es conocida con los nombres comunes de algarrobo en Argentina y Perú y de mezquite en México.
Actualmente es urgente una buena gestión de la Prosopis para conservar esta especie. Además de una reducción de la tala y el replante de zonas despobladas de árboles, se hará un mayor empleo de su fruta. Perú ha explotado este frutal con gran éxito y por ese motivo el Gobierno argentino ha solicitado los servicios de la experta peruana en CTPD Nora Grados.
Durante el período de su consulta en Argentina, la Sra. Grados impartió dos cursillos de capacitación sobre el cuidado y el empleo de la fruta de este árbol y transmitió los conocimientos de su país a 80 personas, entre ellas productores, personal del Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agrícola (INTA), maestros rurales y técnicos de escuelas profesionales, así como a extensionistas.
The month-long consultancy in Argentina of Peruvian prosopis fruit expert Nora Grados is an excellent example of how one country provided another with the technical expertise needed to implement a crop improvement programme in an arid region. Prosopis (Prosopis spp.) is an important indigenous crop in South America, Asia and Africa. It is known by the common names algarrobo in Argentina and Peru and mezquite in Mexico.
In Argentina, prosopis forests have traditionally covered large areas of the country's northeastern Santiago del Estero region. Little use has been made of this renewable food resource, however; it has chiefly been exploited for timber, and forms the basis of an economically important furniture industry in the region. Extensive felling of prosopis trees and a lack of sustainable forest management have resulted in deforestation and increasing ecological damage to the species. There is now an urgent need for the proper management and conservation of Prosopis spp. Besides reduced felling and replanting of deforested areas, this will involve the greater use of the prosopis fruit. Peru has exploited the fruit with notable success; for this reason the Argentine Government requested the services of the Peruvian TCDC expert.
During her consultancy in Argentina, Grados held two training courses in prosopis fruit cultivation and use and shared her country's knowledge with
 Peruvian TCDC expert Nora Grados (right) training Argentinean researchers, farmers and technical staff in prosopis fruit cultivation |
Considerable potential exists to increase the use of prosopis fruit in Argentina, which has been hampered until now by low fruit quality and poor presentation. Only a few traditional forms of utilization are known, including a kind of pâté made from the dried, ground and pressed fruit, a concentrated syrup jarabe and an alcoholic beverage aloja. The fruit is nutritious and the importance of carrying out applied research on its chemical composition was highlighted during meetings with local government officials and university staff, who agreed to collaborate with the Peruvian expert and her colleagues in such research.
Research at the Universidad de Piura in Peru, where Grados teaches, indicates that industrial processing of the fruit is feasible. The university is also willing to transfer the technology it has developed to Argentina under a bilateral agreement between the two countries. The expert examined ongoing research in Argentina on prosopis fruit production and visited the Universidad National de Santiago del Estero, where she toured its food processing plant. She held meetings with university staff and discussed the idea of holding a course on prosopis fruit processing technology, using the university's facilities.
The expert identified sites for the establishment of pilot prosopis fruit orchards and plantations, and recommended species and varieties adapted to the agroclimatic conditions of the Santiago del Estero region. She also identified sources of high-quality vegetative material for propagation, and contributed to the establishment of a prosopis fruit-tree nursery and germplasm bank. She recommended that prosopis fruit research and development should be a government priority as it could also provide an opportunity to raise local people's standards of living as a result of increased investment, income and employment generation in the region.