The Palestinian agriculture clusters strategy : status and prospects

Abstract EN

study aims to assess the current situation and the expected impact of the implementation of the strategy of the Palestinian agricultural clusters plan on the agricultural sector by studying the items of the plan, the current status of what has been accomplished from the outputs, the expected impact on development and the actual capabilities available to implement the ambitious clusters plan.

As for the results of the study, based on the responses of the officials, it is difficult to know the impact of the strategy of the agricultural clusters plan before a period of 3-5 years passes, as studying the production of agricultural crops takes time.

Additionally, the plan relies on a number of indicators to measure outputs, which can be calculated according to the matrix of the plan’s interventions.

Moreover, the success of the plans depends on the partnership and integration with the Palestinian Government, the private sector, NGOs, and civil society, and the relationship with funders, especially the European Union.

There is no doubt that there are challenges and risks caused by the Israeli occupation policies and settlers in order to impede development.

The most important recommendations of the study are that the development of the agricultural sector in Palestine is an urgent necessity in order to reach results that achieve the strategic goals of the clusters plans, namely the involvement of entrepreneurial youth, farmers, and investors in agricultural and rural businesses of feasibility and sustainability, the access to agricultural production techniques, varieties, and strains used by farmers and producers to improve them, the addition of new land areas cultivated with strategic, highvalue crops and livestock farms with a return, and the easy and convenient access of farmers to their lands and water sources in all governorates, in addition to the encouragement of investment in the agricultural sector between the public and private sectors, and the need to secure external financing and external investments to pump money into this sector, specifically to support-objectives and excellence, provide opportunities for work, as well as income and food security for the citizen in a sustainable manner, contribute to pushing economic growth by investing natural resources through market opportunities and knowledge that will enhance the resilience of farmers in their lands as a safe way to fight the challenges and enabling the Palestinian economy to rely on domestic production and create a competitive advantage for each province of the Palestinian governorates.

(“Agricultural cluster in Qalqilia Development Plan “, 2019) The agricultural sector is the backbone of the Palestinian national economy.

The plan is based on all activities and interventions on the basis of strengthening partnership and coordination between various government institutions, the private sector, cooperative societies, farmers, universities, and donors in response to the needs in the selected areas, which will lead to the contribution of all in the implementation of the clusters plan, so that clusters are based on horizontal cooperation and development with other clusters, and vertical development within a single cluster towards a productive sector for the public benefit.

(Ishtayeh, 2018) The plan will contribute to the development and growth of the agricultural sector through the reclamation of agricultural land, which will increase the area of land and the efficiency of production in addition to the construction and rehabilitation of agricultural roads to facilitate access to farmers and serve their lands, and the plan will contribute to increasing the amount of water available for irrigation through the rehabilitation of groundwater wells and through the harvesting of water rain in wells and rainwater collection tanks.

(Ministry of Agriculture Palestine, n.d.).