News » 26.06.2026 - Making Dutch horticultural technology locally accessible in the Moroccan market
Sebastiaan Hijstek has been active in the Moroccan horticulture market for several years. As project manager for Dutch greenhouse builder Horti XS, he visits the country monthly. In late 2025, together with partners including Horti XS, he founded Nexus Flow, a Moroccan company set up to help Dutch businesses enter the fast-growing North African market.
The company's aim is to promote the adoption of Dutch knowledge, technology and expertise in Morocco, contributing to the modernisation of sectors that currently still rely largely on low-tech solutions.
Greenhouse builder with local clout
Nexus Flow grew out of projects that Horti XS had realised in Morocco over the past years. Those experiences gave Hijstek the idea to establish a Moroccan entity, making it easier to introduce innovation in the country. "Having a Moroccan company helps when doing business here," he says.
Hijstek is clear that Nexus Flow differs from other companies that have set up local entities: it is a genuine greenhouse construction company, not a consultancy. "We have boots on the ground." Nexus Flow handles all operational matters from within Morocco, with an ambition to also carry out engineering locally in due course.
Sebastiaan Hijstek (Nexus Flow) and Khahoula Benbouker (Horti XS) at the Morocco Tomato Conference
From first projects to commercial cultivation
Nexus Flow made its trade fair debut in Morocco, where Hijstek again spoke with a large number of interested parties. His main challenge is to make it possible to build increasingly modern greenhouses in Morocco. Research institutes have already made the step towards high-tech greenhouse construction, but commercial growers have generally not yet reached that point.
Nexus Flow acts as a connecting platform for Dutch suppliers in the horticulture sector. Several Dutch partners collaborate with the company in developing innovative technologies that contribute to the further professionalisation of Moroccan horticulture and are accessible to Moroccan growers.
Different greenhouse type
As an example of technology adapted to Moroccan growing conditions, Hijstek points to a new type of growing gutter. The gutter enables Moroccan growers to cultivate on substrate and to recirculate water. A large tomato grower working with Nexus Flow has already shown interest in the plastic gutter.
The most widely used greenhouse type in Morocco is the Canary Island greenhouse. Hijstek sees opportunities to move forward with a new greenhouse type that creates room for technical innovations such as drain water recirculation, mechanical ventilation and screening systems, features that many Moroccan growers do not yet use, as they currently opt to produce at low cost in relatively inexpensive structures.
Establishing a local Moroccan entity is intended to help build market potential for these innovations. Moroccan growers face challenges similar to those of their European counterparts: increasing virus pressure, labour issues, rising investment costs, crop protection restrictions, water scarcity and a growing need for effective climate control.
Morocco has abundant sunshine, but no natural gas and no geothermal energy. Water is scarce. Labour costs are lower than in Europe, but are rising, and to export to European markets, Moroccan growers face increasingly strict requirements from buyers regarding the use of crop protection products.
Nexus Flow anticipates that willingness to invest among Moroccan growers will increase as they look to the future. Establishing a solid local presence now is seen as the right step to be well-positioned when that moment arrives.
Source: www.floraldaily.com
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