Moroccan Brothers Pursue Spanish Sheep Farming Dream in Barcelona

Lakhdar, married and father of two children aged 10 and 2, lives in Cascante, and Essaddik, in a relationship and expecting his first child, lives in Murchante. The two Moroccan brothers have been living in Spain for about twenty years, arriving in Murcia before moving to Navarre in 2017 for Essaddik and in 2021 for his older brother. This Wednesday, they went to Pamplona to receive their diplomas after five months of training at the Villava/Atarrabia center.

Their project is to venture into sheep farming, an activity practiced by their grandparents and parents in Morocco. They plan to start with a flock of a thousand sheep on a farm that will be set up in Cascante, Murchante or Tudela. Despite this experience gained in the family business, the two brothers are aware of the differences between the Moroccan and Spanish models. "In Morocco, people ask for bigger lambs, six or seven months old, while in Navarre they ask for lambs of about 45 days, which requires fattening pens, slaughterhouses, etc.," explains Lakhdar.

The delicate period the sector is going through, with rising production costs or drought, does not dampen the commitment of the two brothers to the realization of this project. "We are in talks with a farmer close to retirement so that he can transfer his sheep to us," adds Lakhdar, who has been working as a farmer for two months. "We aspire to have a herd of 4,000 heads in the future," says Essaddik, who will combine this activity with his job as a mechanic in a company in the Tudela Agri-Food City (CAT).