Agriculture
Led by “Domaines Zniber”, agriculture is the Group’s core business, which shaped the company and made it prosper. Its core mission is to reveal the unexploited treasures of Moroccan soils. The journey started in 1956 from the estate of Aït Harzallah in the region of Meknes, which is also the historical heart of agricultural Morocco. Today, Diana Holding manages 3600 hectares of agricultural land through its dedicated subsidiaries, namely 25 farms through 16 subsidiaries.
Value Chain
Research and Development Unit
Nursery of certified plants
Diversity of terroirs across the country
Qualified sales force dedicated to the market
Logistics platforms with state-of-the-art infrastructure
Conditioning stations near the orchards.
Key figures
3 600
hectares of agricultural land
16 000
tons of cold storage capacity
20
countries of destination for export
25
fermes à travers 16 filiales
4 000
direct jobs
certifications
In more detail, the agricultural activity can be broken down as follows
Tree farming
The tree fruit orchards of Diana Holding are specialized in fruit production of different species, like rosaceous pips, rosaceous stones, table grapes and exotic fruits. Present on over 1200 hectares, the company aims at consolidating its position as the historical leader on the local fruit market, while actively working on the development of its export activities. Domaines Zniber currently exports to 20 countries and aims to increase its volume and expand its portfolio of export destinations. To achieve this goal, all the elements in the value chain are continually assessed to be increasingly mastered, from research to marketing and sales.
Red fruits
Almost non-existent less than a generation ago in Morocco, red fruits have experienced a significant boom in the Kingdom. The sector shows particularly substantial performance in exports. Red fruits are grown on an area of 600 hectares across the regions of Kenitra, Souss and Dakhla. The 18 varieties of raspberries, blueberries and blackberries are mostly exported to the European market. This activity represents a total production of 2600 tons of fruit per year, with a future production of 7500 tons.
Citrus growing
Becoming the 3rd largest exporter of citrus berries in the world[1] (Source: Ministry of Agriculture), Morocco has succeeded in making its citrus industry a quality sector, both competitive and environmentally friendly. In this context, citrus fruits are considered emblematic fruits of the Moroccan agricultural production. If this trade remains relatively recent for Diana Holding, the company is already a pioneer in the field of agricultural aggregation and conditioning.
The Group’s citrus fruit production is mainly located in the Berkane and Oriental regions, on 700 hectares of its own land and 1800 hectares in aggregation. Its implementation is based on the development of several varieties intended mainly for export, with the objective of a positive evolution of the national market shares, all in a very competitive sector.
Conditioning
stations
The conditioning stations the Group developed are strong assets for its overall activity. They allow us to enhance the value of our products and preserve them over longer periods of time, while complying with the best international standards.
The packaging station located in Ait Harzallah, currently being extended, processes, stores, packages and preserves the fruit production of the estate. It stands out by its size and its location. The second packaging station, Berkane Packaging, dedicated to citrus fruits, is located in the Oriental region. Thanks to its latest technology equipment in IT, we guarantee the traceability of the fruits from the orchard to the final customer.
Ait Harzallah :
- Packaging capacity: 200 tons per day
- Surface area: 21,000 m2, eventually 30,000 m2
- 300 full-time jobs and 20 permanent jobs.
Berkane :
- Packaging capacity: 900 tons per day
- Surface area: 50,000m² of which 35,000m² is covered
- 500 direct jobs.
Compost
Pioneer in the field of new agricultural practices, Diana Holding positioned itself at the forefront of composting in Morocco since 2004. This composting platform is fully in line with the ambition to promote a more sustainable and responsible agriculture.
Benefiting from the byproducts of agricultural production, our compost is essentially made up of grape pomace and olive pulp, ensuring a perfect bio-fertilization of the soil. The unit currently produces 15 000 tons of a guaranteed 100% natural compost per year, with a wide range of formulas each adapted to the specificities of each different terroir.
Nursery
As an ecological and responsible player, Diana Holding is aware of the importance of traceability, a key issue for food safety. As the first soilless nursery in the Kingdom, Zniber Nursery has set up an “in vitro” culture laboratory that allows the selection of the best plants from a wide range of fruit species.
Thanks to its state-of-the-art infrastructures and the skills of its teams, the Nursery also meets the needs of national players, thus constituting an alternative to the importation of plants and limiting the risks of introducing phytopathogenic agents to the country. Specialized in the production of olive trees, rosaceous fruit trees, citrus trees and vines, the nursery plant has an annual production capacity of more than 3 million plants.
