Happy Farm (Mazraa' Sa'eeda) - Suzan Yacoub
Growing up in a farming family situated in the lush landscapes of Tulkarim, Suzan Yacoub developed an early interest and passion for agriculture. As such, Suzan pursued an education as an agronomist to be able to build on and develop innovative techniques to increase productivity and contribute to the family farm. Utilizing over five years of experience as a working environmentally conscious agronomist as well as her families vast farming skills, Suzan decided to start Happy Farm (Mazraa’ Sa’eeda).
With Happy Farm (Mazraa’ Sa’eeda) Suzan created a venture of her own and works to seasonally cultivate high demand produce such as cucumbers, corn, cabbages, lettuce, okra and radishes. Suzan’s ambitions motivated her to participate in a variety of projects which include international exchanges, as well as agriculture and development courses in China. As a result of Suzan’s hard work and efforts to positively contribute to the Palestinian agricultural sector she has been recognized for her entrepreneurial pursuits from the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture.
Suzan identified a growing need amongst Palestinian consumers for locally grown cherry tomatoes and cucumbers which are currently imported from external sources, she explains, “Locally sourced cherry tomatoes and cucumbers are especially needed to positively affect agricultural growth as well as the consumer based market.” Suzan aims to cultivate more than 5 tons of cherry tomatoes and cucumbers with the assistance of her family as well as hired hands, to capture the service sector, which includes restaurants, catering services factories for mass production as well as for individual use.
Based on initial growth and received funding, Suzan aims to increase area of cultivated lands in order to more effectively meet the needs of the market as well as to install a greenhouse and an efficient eco-friendly irrigation system.
Not only does Suzan utilize environmentally friendly techniques in the cultivation of her produce in Happy Farm (Mazraa’ Sa’eeda), but she has made it her mission to maximize her impact by employing women in need to positively contribute to the livelihoods and wellbeing of local communities, she elaborates, “It is very important for me to support local women and give them a chance to better their lives, I have had the opportunity to make my ambitions a reality and I want to help other women do the same”.
Despite Suzan’s personal ambitions and success with Happy Farm (Mazraa’ Sa’eeda), she is actively working to create a network of collaboration, support and guidance amongst female agricultural entrepreneurs to contribute to an ecosystem which sustainably supports locally sourced environmentally friendly agriculture. And finally Suzan speaks about her vision for the future, “I am optimistic that by creating a network of female agriculture entrepreneurs we can initiate positive change in employment opportunities for women and by inspiring countless women to take initiative and strive towards success in any field!”