Hafedh Akrout Omri and his wife Ester Sanahuja Redondo are the managers of the Spanish company Biosanare, which was established in 2006 and specialises in the production and processing of organic food products, such as pickles, dried tomatoes, canned artichokes and white asparagus. Hafedh: "It has always been difficult to find good organic vegetables at a reasonable price. For this reason, we started to develop an agricultural business in an area we found right next to Girona airport in 2016."
This estate, which is called “Maraîcher BIO de Gérone” (organic gardener of Girona), is managed by Mounir Bouhelel, responsible for production and marketing. Mounir: "To avoid being at the mercy of some producers, we try to produce artichokes, pickles and tomatoes ourselves. All summer, we produce for our needs. During the winter we export."
Hafedh, Ester and Mounir
95% of Biosanare products are for export. Hafedh: "Our main activity focuses on the French market. We also have some customers in California, and from time to time we even work with our representative in Japan."
Maraîcher BIO de Gérone is a 36 hectare estate located in a woodland area. Mounir: "On these 36 hectares, we will structure ten hectares for horticulture. Everything else will remain a forest, as to conserve biodiversity. We really have everything we need on this farm. There are ladybugs, birds and frogs. Currently, five hectares are certified organic where we produce leek and purple garlic.”
Tourism
The estate is a special environment; “a ‘designated’ resting area”. Mounir: "We are restoring the old Catalan house on the estate, where we can accommodate visitors. In the future, there will be animals, like horses and chickens, as well."
The old Catalan house
"Regarding the agricultural part; we will diversify as much as possible to avoid diseases. This year we grow leek, next year we’ll cultivate something else: we’ll grow aromatic herbs and almonds."
The products grown by Maraîcher BIO de Gérone are intended for a clientele seeking genuine organic practice. Mounir, who is experienced in the organic scene himself: "We wanted to keep the spirit of organic farming. We are present on the grounds every day. We maintain it, we listen to it and we taste it. We do not use plastic, and we harvest the herbs by hand."
"We offer very tasty varieties. Customers of stores where our leeks are sold, don’t want anything other than our product: they say our leeks have a certain taste they like a lot. The organic market is very demanding, and we want to retain a demanding clientele. We’re approaching restaurants these days as well."
Mounir: "In France, it has only been about ten years since the demand for organic products exploded. The Spanish market will soon provide an organic demand as well, like Portugal. The future of organic farming is very interesting."
For more information:
BIOSANARE
Hafedh Akrout Omri
Ester Sanahuja Redondo
Maraîcher BIO de Gérone
Mounir Bouhelel
00 34937812553