Dutchman discusses nine years of growing, processing onions in Canada

It’s been nine years since Bas Melissant and his family emigrated from the Netherlands to Canada. He bought a farm near Norwich and founded MEN’s Farming Inc. It supplies specialty onions to the North American market. In this interview, he reflects on the move and building the company. “Emigrating to Canada wasn’t easy. Neither was building a cultivation and processing company from the ground up,” Bas recalls.

“Or finding buyers for your product. I’d gained experience in several fields. I was a contractor, buyer, pool manager, international salesman, manager, and grower. That was in the Netherlands and France. It was very useful in starting this business. I grew my first onions when I was 17. And have been lucky to work for and with the best business people in the onion world. That was a great, instructive time.”