Story from the MyFoodStory website:
Saeed Hassan is a farmer from Marda, one of Salfeet's suburbs, he is 55 years old. He owns large areas of lands planted with olive trees. His family : 5 sons, 2 daughters and his wife. All of them depend on the production of the land.
"How do you get this land? And how it became productive? Mr.Saeed" I asked him. "I got this land from my father, mercy is upon him, and I always remember his saying for me. Take care of the land as you take care of your children, I treat it as my children, trees feel like human ,they feel us, so they give us if we treated them well." He answered.
'Do you use fertilizers or chemicals'? I asked." "I use natural fertilizer, it is very useful for trees and plants, and it is easy to get, I get it from my farm animals. For chemicals, I rarely use them; I only use them for insects, insecticides, vermicide, and parasiticides, to protect crops and to be boost productivity". He replied. "What will you do if you face problems? I asked. "I will consult the agriculture committee to give me directions to increase the production and solve the problems.
Then I asked him how do you irrigate your trees? He told me water comes from rain water in winter and in summer I rarely irrigate them. And he adds that he made a simple system of irrigation in summer. He collects rain water in a well and he located two tanks in a higher position, then he fixed a network of pipes in the land. There is a hole opposite to every tree, he opens the clasp frequently to irrigate them. This will save time and water .Another thing, he is mixing white soil with natural fertilizer, He puts it on the trunks of trees, and this mix holds water for a long time.
After that I asked him what you do with your crops. He answered that he takes his family's yearly supply and then he sells the rest to the markets.
Then I asked him who would help you in your work, He answered: my children and my wife ,they always help me, they love the land as I do, I always tell them about the land and how to take care of it, I will give my life to my land, and so is my family.
Finally I asked him do you want to add anything, he added "It's more interesting to have many and many childrens, trees and land are my children, in addition to my children". Editor: Awne Abo Zant
From the MyFoodStory website, storyteller SaeedHassan
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