Paradise garden, More Information about te region

Strategies for a better life.

THE SITUATION OF THE POPULATION.

AND THE PROBLEMS OF APPLE PLANTATION IN MIDELT

The region.

Midelt is a place with 55.000 inhabitants, in the north of Morocco on the road between Meknes and Errachidia. It lies in front of the first mountain range of the Atlas behind the Middle and in front of the gigantic massif of the High Atlas with the Ait Ayashi (3700 m) on an extensive plateau (1600 m). The population consists of 80% Berbers of the Ait Hadidou, whose region extends to Imilchil. It is a fertile region in itself. The clouds at 2500 m above the Middle Atlas cling to the weather divide of the first mountain range at 3500 m and rain, sometimes even in violent thunderstorms.

So water is present, which distinguishes this region from other dry regions behind the Atlas mountain ranges.

The climate.

Midelt has a climate 10 degrees below the general climate in Morocco and 10 degrees above the average climate in Europe. The agricultural planting in front of the mountain ranges creates cooling winds that make the nights pleasant in summer. This gives Midelt a good, almost ideal climate for agricultural cultivation of all kinds. The soil is made of heavy, good clay.

The monoculture of apple orchards and their problems.

30 years ago, Said Rhadou brought an engineer who studied apple trees in Germany and tried these trees in the climate on a plantation. Because it worked and the yield was good, more and more Berbers grew apple orchards and there was an extensive monoculture of apple tree orchards that went into the hundreds of thousands. It is now the best apples in Morocco that, thanks to the climate, can be stored well in cold stores until the end of May and sell well.

In the beginning, the prices were excellent (60 - 80 cents per KG), but as more and more plantations were created, the price of apples was reduced to the current 40 - 50 cents and the profitability of the plantations was lower.In the last years by very hot summers and a problem to store this apples in the cool houses the price fall down on 30 cents.  Beekeeping, the most important part of pollination, was not built up to the same extent as the plantations.

The groundwater level decreased over the years due to the increased consumption in the summer months, the costs for wells and water rose as more and more plantations were created. Water comes in the mountains through underground gravel layers. This means rain from time to time and snow stock at the winter. The long-standing monoculture of the plantations without livestock farming unfortunately also leads to the increasing use of pesticides. Basically, an exaggerated monoculture always leads to disaster.

Lack of expertise.

The plantations set up by parents, which are now inherited, can usually no longer be managed profitably by the young, and the general situation is getting worse. The yields of farms with e.g. 4 hectares are no longer sufficient to feed a family of 8, which is not a problem in Europe.

The main reasons are lack of or often no education of farmers, no education, no skills in agricultural activity, land use, and animal husbandry, and no knowledge of simple financial planning and organization.

The traditions and eating habits prevent new ideas or products and creativity. Since visiting Europe is expensive, there is unfortunately no exchange of ideas in this area.

No collaborations.

Cooperation among themselves is not apparent, nor is there any other institution that can help the Berbers out of the hopeless situation. The tradition of Islam with its family guidelines leads to isolation from the neighbor. Distrust and envy spread so that no one trusts the other. There are no cooperatives that organize the small farmers in Germany according to the principles of Raiffeisen, or if they exist, then they only come about through a private initiative in the field of milk utilization.

There is also no joint purchase of machines. It is precisely here that one could achieve immense savings in agricultural work in the management of a group of 10-20 farms. The work is currently mostly done by hand, just like 100 years ago. Machines are hardly used.

No fund.

There is also no fund that helps with hail damage or crop failure in the apple orchards or a way to quickly process the damaged fruit on site, such as converting it to apple juice, jam, compote, or dried fruit that can be stored.

The situation has worsened in recent years, and the general weather changes in recent years, which led to more thunderstorms and hail in the harvest months, brought losses, some of which were considerable, and endangered farm management in the next year, what about which led to poor earnings over the years.

The impoverishment increases.

It is not only the farmers who are no longer able to feed themselves adequately from the farms and who are becoming increasingly poor, but above all the workers who have no land, who are receiving less and less and uneven money and are no longer able to feed their families. The often half-year employment as a paid worker without insurance in spring and autumn is also a major problem for families. No health insurance and pension contributions are paid for wage labor. At the end of their lives, the workers are left with nothing and have to be fed by their children if they have work. There is no money for medical care and medication, minor illnesses in the family and the widespread age-related diabetes almost always lead to death. It is mostly the older working family members and the breadwinner of large families fails.

The low and irregular income leads to poor and one-sided vitamin-free nutrition for families with white bread and couscous, although there are cheap vegetables and fruits on the market and this leads to increasing diseases and tooth loss, which often occurs from the age of 20.

No cattle farming.

This is only practiced in the old tradition in the form of flocks of sheep and goats by the homeless who graze their herds on the mountain meadows. Because sheep eat the apple buds and leaves, it is not possible to keep them on the plantations. Much of the valuable manure is lost through the herd instinct in foreign terrain. Manure is only available in the stables and farmers have to buy it expensive in the spring. The farmers lack the money to buy large cattle and additional feed.

Permacultur Farm Atlas

Strategies for a better life.

Av.Tichka, Domain Don Ronaldo, MA-54350 MIDELT, 

               jardin.paradis@web.de,