The Cooperative Agribusiness Development Initiative

The greatest challenge confronting Palestinian farmers today is the marketing of their produce. Due to the proliferation of Israeli checkpoints and tight restrictions on movement, farmers are unable to access wholesale markets. Intermediaries have proven to be unreliable, farmers’ organizations are weak and inefficient, and there is little cooperation among farmers for selling their products.

Given the critical importance of agriculture to the imperiled Palestinian economy, ANERA has begun implementing the Cooperative Agribusiness Development (CAD) project, a significant initiative that is part of the West Bank USAID Food Security Program (FSP).

The goal of the project is to increase the capacity of Palestinian agricultural cooperatives and their farmer members to produce high-quality vegetables that are competitive in local Palestinian and Israeli markets.

The project is funded by USAID through ACDI/VOCA and is being implemented by ANERA in partnership with the Palestinian Economic and Social Development Center (ESDC).

Five promising cooperatives have been selected for this project, based on the recommendations of a preliminary assessment study done by ACDI/VOCA. The five cooperatives: Qalqilia Cooperative for Marketing and Irrigation, Thinnabeh Cooperative for Agricultural Services, Baqa El-Sharqeyeh Cooperative for Agricultural Services, Qabatia Agricultural Cooperative, and Al Jalameh Agricultural Cooperative are all located in some of the West Bank’s most important protected agricultural areas.

The objectives are:

  • To improve the income levels of 353 vegetable farmers by 15% over the project’s duration

  • To add 82 dunums (approximately 20 acres) of plastic greenhouses and rehabilitate 226 dunums (approximately 55 acres) to promote safe and healthy vegetable production

  • To build the technical capacity of the farmers in environmentally-safe greenhouse vegetable production
    techniques and to train them in a comprehensive greenhouse management approach to production

  • To train farmers in phytosanitary requirements and market protocols for selling their produce in local and Israeli markets

  • To foster improved relations among cooperative members through training and other technical assistance tools

  • To engage in marketing linkage exercises between the five cooperatives and local and Israeli markets

ANERA is pleased to report progress in a number of areas:

  • Arrangement for the delivery of office supplies such as computers, printers and a photocopier.

  • Procurement and distribution of insect traps for the greenhouses.

  • Retention of a consultant to customize and implement financial and management systems for the five coops, as well as an IT professional to develop customized databases and websites for the coops.

  • Construction of 42 new greenhouses and rehabilitation of older greenhouses for 58 farmers.

  • Planting of new crops of cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and tomatoes, with plans for snow pea crops under way.

  • Field visits by extension agents and horticulture technical experts to farms in the project’s targeted areas. They supervise construction and rehabilitation, as well as follow up on farmers’ training and make recommendations for future crops.

We are committed to implementing this important project throughout its fifteen- month duration and anticipate making a significant contribution towards the growth and revitalization of this crucial part of the Palestinian economy.