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My name is Nurit Azoulay, I am 75 years old and I have lived on Moshav Lachish in southern Israel for 57 years. My two daughters were born here and in my opinion, it is the best place to live – a well-kept moshav with a great community life and most importantly, strong solidarity. Your community does not let you fall. Our greatest pride is Tali Grapes, a produce company that provides many types of agricultural produce such as grapes and peppers.
Growing
I love growing grapes and peppers. I used to grow kohlrabi, plums, and peaches but over the years, I have decided to focus on two main crops, and since those are the pride of the moshav I chose them. When asked if there is another type of crop that interests me, I always say that I grow with the crops and am connected to the soil.
What does my day look like?
I wake up every morning at 8 a.m., which is relatively late for farmers but is one of the benefits of age. I don't nap during the afternoon or have a bedtime. When I'm tired, I go to sleep.
If I wasn't a farmer…
I never wanted to be anything but a farmer my whole life. I love what I do and I do what I love.
My favorite season
I like all the seasons of the year. Luckily, I do not get hot in the summer or cold in the winter. I spend all my time in the field and I love having the sun on my face and the breeze on my back and nothing else matters.
Coronavirus
I know that many farmers were severely impacted by the effects of Corona but I was fortunate to not have been hit hard by the pandemic.
Workers
We work with Bedouin workers and also foreign workers from Thailand. I really enjoy working with them. They say that you get what you give and I believe that is especially true for harvesting the field, it is not an easy job but the more you give the more you will receive.
The thing I love most about being a farmer
I love everything about being a farmer – from my interaction with the land to the relationship with the gleaners.
The thing I like least about being a farmer…
What I like least about being a farmer is all the outside factors. When the weather is too warm, it leads to a decrease in produce. And what is the solution that the government provides? To make the produce cheaper for the consumer. This is a terrible solution because it hurts the farmers. The only people who benefit are the importers who receive discounts from the government and pocket a huge amount of profit.
Something you may not know is that recently hundreds of farms have been closed and not reopened. The farmer has to let his workers go and pay hundreds of thousands of shekels in compensation that he doesn't have. It's not just competing with the importers, it's also the large brokerage fees which can sometimes add up to 600%. It took us years to explain to the public that the one making money off the produce is not the farmers but the supermarkets.
We farmers fall between the cracks of the government ministries specifically Agriculture and Finance and we're constantly fighting with them to get our rights. In the last government, we had a great friend in the Minister of Agriculture, Alon Schuster, who was the head of the Gaza Council and understood the needs of the farmers as well. Now that we'll have a new government soon, I don't know who will replace him and whether he will actually care about the farmers or be a political patsy.
Security situation
One of my daughters is in Lachish, one granddaughter in Beer Sheva and one daughter in Tel Aviv and many family members living near the Gaza Strip. The security situation keeps me up at night, worrying about my family but it doesn't directly affect my work.
Tip:
The people of Israel love to eat fresh agricultural produce but unfortunately, less attention is paid to pesticides. This is very important because over-spraying causes health issues. Of course on your own you can't tell if a farmer uses pesticides, so what do you do? You need to find a farm that you trust who holds itself to the highest standards – like Tali Grapes. You need to understand what types of sprays the company uses and how often to make sure that it's regulated and safe.
Leket Israel
I am so grateful for my partnership with Leket Israel. As soon as we harvest everything we're able to call Leket Israel and tell them whatever is left is yours to take. I see them working and I appreciate the fact that they provide their own labor and donate the produce to people in need. The idea that my surplus helps others makes me so happy.
Farmers, your surplus produce could go to people in need. Join Leket Israel today.
