UN agency's pilot project seeks to reverse Palestinian agricultural decline

In a bid to reverse a three-year-long decline in food security in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today announced a pilot project to help Palestinian farmers, with activities ranging from replanting orchards to installing irrigation systems to rehabilitating rangeland.

Against the backdrop of a volatile political and economic situation in the region, the project will foster urgently needed agricultural rehabilitation while minimizing risks in terms of resources, the Rome-based agency said.

The project, funded by Italy with around $1.5 million, aims to support over the next two years around 12,000 poor people from 1,500 farming households in rural areas of Bethlehem, Hebron, Gaza and Tulkarm. It will be carried out jointly by FAO and the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture.

With rising poverty and unemployment, the food security situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip has considerably deteriorated over the past three years of clashes between Palestinians and Israelis. But despite the prevailing constraints, agriculture still plays a major economic and social role, providing not only income and employment opportunities for a large number of Palestinians in rural areas but also contributing significantly to food security.

Project activities will include replanting orchards with improved varieties, replacing greenhouses, installing irrigation systems and providing pest management equipment as well as planting vegetables, olive and fruit trees.

The project will also renovate animal sheds and rehabilitate rangeland through reseeding, fencing and constructing water points. It will also establish rainwater harvesting systems and provide training in the proper management and sustainable use of natural resources.

“Farmers and their families will directly benefit from improved skills, techniques and infrastructure provided by the project," FAO said.