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Younes and Rachida Tazi

Terra Citrus

‘Hi, we are Younes and Rachida and together with a great motivated team, we grow a wide range of amazing, exotic organic citrus fruits including Citrus Caviar, the Japanese Sudachi and Yuzu lemons, Kaffir limes, Buddha’s Hand, Wekiwa, Meyer lemons, Kumquat Meiwa, and much much more. Taste and smell them to discover the delights of diversity in citrus. Thank you for buying our fruits!’

‘Our family farm was established in 1950 when my great grandfather bought 500 hectares of land next to the river Sebou not far from the historic city of Fez where I was born 20 years later’, says Younes. ‘In 1986 my father, who was a surgeon, planted our current 82 hectares with orange trees. I am now responsible for the farm and started with certified organic production in 2015. Today about half our land is organically certified and by 2020 I expect that the whole area will be completely organic. Thanks to previous settlers in this area, our land is extremely rich in nutrients, for me I see it not only as a gift but also as a message from the past, asking us to protect this precious area for future generations.’

Interview with Younes and Rachida

Why did you start with organic agriculture?
Younes: ‘When we were working with artificial fertilizers we noticed problems with our trees so we had the soil analyzed. The tests showed that the soil was incredibly nutrient rich. Rich to an extent that we didn’t believe the results, so we redid the testing. The results continued to show an immensely rich soil, the fertilizers we were applying were simply too much for the trees. An ancient tomb, old pottery and antique instruments we found on site indicated the existence of a rich history on our land. Locals told us what they had learned from their forefathers: around 500 years ago there was a small village of shepherds with lots of cow and sheep who apparently pre-fertilized the soil for our citrus trees.

So what was the next step?
Younes: ‘When we learned about our rich soil, we understood that the switch to organic was a clear option and therefore we started looking for someone who could help us with combatting the pests in a natural way. In Abderahim Chakra we found the best person we could wish for. With his expertise, the nutrient rich soil, ample clean water from the Sebou river and the perfect citrus growing climate we were able to make a quite smooth transition into organic agriculture.'

Can you tell us something about citrus caviar ?
Rachida: ‘Citrus caviar, which is also called micro citrus or finger lime, is a very special citrus fruit. The colour of the skin can vary between dark green to brown red and each fruit contains shiny granules that look like pearls or caviar which have a fresh lime like flavour. What I love most is that the citrus caviar pearls burst in your mouth and deliver an immediate flavour blast.’

Where does the fruit come from?
Rachida: Citrus caviar originally comes from Australia where it was enjoyed by Aboriginals. Recently the fruit was rediscovered and several farmers have started cultivating this product on a larger scale. The fruit is particularly popular as a garnish for fish dishes, carpaccio, salads, or fabulous deserts.

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soil

We are blessed by a natural mineral rich soil. But we have to make sure we keep it that way. Besides the biodiversity we plant on our farm, we make sure not to overexploit our land. Organic agriculture is all about feeding the soil and not the plant directly, we therefore produce our own compost using clippings from the trees and manure that we receive from the local community by trading it for fire wood obtained from the pruning of larger branches. The positive effects of composting are numerous. Soil water management is improved, with better drainage and reduced erosion and runoff. As a result the soil is more resistant to drought or flooding. Biodiversity is greatly improved. Soil-borne diseases are suppressed. More organic matter is stored in the soil, that compensates for greenhouse gas emissions. In short, good composting brings fertility.

biodiversity

Due to the natural vegetation hedgerows surrounding our fields, we are blessed with a wide variety of wonderful birds including African sparrows, owls, kingfisher, storks and eagles. We also regularly see rabbits, boar and lots of bees, butterflies, ladybugs and other insects that feel very much at home in our orchard. In a nut shell the organic approach is beneficial to natural biodiversity. For me biodiversity is also an abundance of different varieties and breeds. We want to play a role in protecting these varieties and keeping them alive. Our farm is a magical place during blooming. It smells wonderfully and the beauty of all the colourful flowers and butterflies is mesmerizing.

individual

At Terra Citrus we want to develop our employees not just because it makes perfect sense in business, but also because we feel that every person has the right to become who they are. In Morocco there is still a lot of inequality, which has to be battled because we believe everyone deserves an equal chance. This is also the philosophy of the project my wife Rachida is running in Marrakesh called Dar Moustaqbel, which supports girls from the poor southern Moroccan rural region.

In rural Morocco, where schools are few and far between, it is the girls who generally have to stay at home, while the boys in the family attend school. Several boarding houses for high school girls are located in mountain villages near regional schools, so the girls can go to school every day and obtain a high school diploma. Many of these girls dream of pursuing higher education, but they lack the financial capacity. In addition, many parents feel their girls are supposed to marry young and become mothers instead of pursuing higher education.

To help these girls the project Dar Moustaqbel was set up by Hanneke Ouwehand-Van Hooff. With the help of Rachida it became a home that cherishes education. A place where 55 young highly motivated and financially disadvantaged girls from remote villages are nurtured and supported. Not only to finish superior education, but also to become young confident women who have the qualities employers are looking for in the extremely competitive labour market. This is why Dar Moustaqbel offers its students extra classes throughout the year, for example in languages and computer skills. For more information please visit: https://moustaqbel.org/

society

We employ a small team of people that live close by in the villages. When it comes to protecting the rights of our employees we adhere to national legislation regarding all the issues covering sick leave, retirement, insurance and other important rights. We live in a country where basic health insurance often doesn’t cover the entire cost of being ill so we feel obliged to fill some of the gaps so people can live happy and healthy lives.

One of our colleagues died in a crash, another became physically disabled, while on their way home from the market one day. Besides helping the widow financially, we recruited the brother of our former colleague to alleviate the burden on his family. Mohammed who cannot work on the field any longer, now is responsible for security. It is the least we could do. And we want to do more.

climate

When it comes to renewable energy, Morocco surprisingly is a leader, not only in Africa but even worldwide. Morocco has set a target at 52 percent renewable energy of our total energy use before 2030. Most of our sustainable energy comes from solar plants, but we also gain a lot of wind energy in the north of the country, and hydro-energy from the many dams we have. The fruit we supply to Nature & More is certified organic, so no chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides are used, which also saves a lot of energy. In conventional farming, these inputs are responsible for major energy use; up to 80 percent of the total. Obviously some energy is used in the cooling and sorting station. The fruit is mostly transported to Europe by ship, which is the most energy efficient transport method.

water

Although this area receives little rainfall we are blessed with the fact that the Sebou river runs right past our land. Nevertheless we only want to use the minimum necessary water and therefore we invested in new underground drip irrigation around our trees which has enabled us to reduce our water consumption by two thirds! Morocco has a long history of water management, and ancient methods as khettaras (underground canalizations used in desert oasis to distribute water) are still used by many farmers in the rock desert. And technology has brought us many new ways to minimize water use, and it is always better to use water from rivers that will run through to the sea anyhow. Thanks to the river Sebou, we can do this.

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