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He is one of the few Moroccan farmers to graduate and work in a milk farm in the Netherlands, if not one of the first ones. Ayoub Louihrani does not hide his pride in working in a profession, which according to him, is still not very accessible to dual national graduates.
Indeed, this 22-year-old breeder told Yabiladi that he applied «to 12 farms for an end-of-studies internship». He was only accepted after his thirteenth attempt. «It was very hard and even discouraging at some point, but I was determined to go to one of the breeding farms to hone my skills», he recalled.
«I would say that there are a lot of preconceived ideas about young Dutch people of Moroccan origin, with everything we read in the newspapers about crime», said Ayoub, who grew up in Amsterdam, a city where the Mocro Maffia has made victims, especially among young people of Moroccan origin. In this environment, Ayoub Louihrani describes that the world of agriculture «is even more closed to foreigners». «The owners of farms are often locals, who live in their properties away from the cities».
«As a result, the stereotypes conveyed about us have an even greater effect on them, because they do not know Moroccans personally but only read about them».
A distinguished milk producer in Amsterdam
In a short time, Ayoub Louihrani managed to debunk these preconceived ideas. His employers entrusted him with several responsibilities. «In their absence, I replace them by ensuring the management of the property and the proper functioning of the entire chain», he said. «I take care of everything related to the farm, the equipment, the health of the livestock with technical and scientific standards, as well as the quality of the production and of the land», he explained, conceding that «it is a role which requires a lot of vigilance and rigor».
For more than two years, the daily life of the young man had a strict schedule. «I wake up every day at 5 AM to inquire about the health of the cows, the availability of their food, vaccines if they need it, then I milk them and I make sure the milk is stored properly, until it is delivered to our buyers».
Since his university years, Ayoub has become increasingly passionate about the world of agriculture. «I had to choose the rest of my course. Most of my friends and classmates were into marketing, computer engineering, economics, or sports», he recalled. Unlike them, Ayoub chose agriculture.
«At the end of my university studies, I went looking for farms until I found the one that accepted me for an internship, at the same time I followed my course in agriculture at the University of Amsterdam», Ayoub recalls. To make this little-known life better known to city dwellers, the farmer recently launched a YouTube channel, allowing Internet users to immerse themselves in the daily life of the farm he works at.
Investing in his country of origin
In the Safi region, Ayoub Louihrani dreams of investing in two plots of land owned by his father and his mother. It is especially during the sanitary crisis that the idea has occurred to him. His ambition is to create his own farm, covering all the value chain, based on the know-how he would have acquired in the Netherlands. Through this, he also aims to supply other Moroccan companies with high-quality raw materials, including milk, livestock and possibly olive or argan oil.
«My dream has always been to return to my country of origin.Since my childhood, we went three times a year to the Safi region. In Amsterdam, my father, a blue-collar man, was forbidding us from speaking any other language than Arabic. So my little brother and I kept very close ties to our parents' land, in addition to the fact that a large part of our extended family remained there».
This project is close to Ayoub's heart, especially if «it can help families in surrounding villages get a better life, a new source of income and a job», he explained. «I really want the people around me to work in good conditions and live with dignity, and I will be happy to be able to contribute, if my knowledge of agriculture allows me to», he confided.
In this sense, Ayoub Louihrani evokes one of the good memories, which he kept from of a study internship carried out in Oualidia. «I worked there in a farm for a few months. I was very touched by the human side of the relationships I had with my employers and colleagues in the workplace», he recalled.
It is the same atmosphere of human warmth that the farmer hopes to recreate, when he has the opportunity to make his project a reality in Morocco. «I made friends here, but I sometimes miss that warmth in the professional world, especially since the working days can be long. This is felt a lot when you are at work alone», the young Dutch-Moroccan explained. «I prefer it when there are people, when people work in groups, talk to each other, sometimes laugh. It makes you think less of the passing time», Ayoub confided.
