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Agriculture in Palestine

Agriculture is one of Palestine's most important assets due to its fertile land and temperate climate. Modern Palestine contains 5640 sq km of land and 7.48% of the land is arable. In 2015 agriculture accounts for 2.9% of the GDP and 11.5% of the labor force and the main crops produced are olives, citrus fruit, vegetables, beef and dairy products. Agriculture was once the main economic output in Palestine but industrialization and policies under the Israeli occupation have led to a large reduction in agriculture. the real GDP produced from agriculture in Palestine has reduced from 12% to 2.9% between the years 1995-2015. This decline in agriculture is largely due to Israeli control over water resources and land.

Challenges with agriculture

Water Scarcity and Distribution

Palestinians in the West Bank use only about 15–20 per cent of the water available annually in the area; the rest is used by the Israeli settlements and within Israel itself. Israel controls the water distribution between Palestine and it is illegal for Palestinians to dig water wells for agricultural purposes without a permit issued by Israel. These restrictions make it increasingly difficult for Palestinian farmers to make a living. "According to B'Tselem, an Israeli non-governmental organization, Israelis consume up to 242 litres of water per person every day. Due to restrictions imposed by Israel, Palestinians consume just 73 litres per day on average, less than the 100 litres that the World Health Organization recommends as the minimum quantity for basic consumption." "The Ma'an report also found that Israeli water companies have been charging Palestinians 11 times more for water than residents in neighboring Israeli settlements." Settlements are often built on hills that overlook the Palestinian communities, and the wastewater is frequently discharged into nearby valleys without treatment. Moreover, solid waste generated in Israel is dumped without restriction in the occupied territories. As a result of pollution caused by raw sewage and seawater infiltration It is also estimated that 90% of the water that is allocated to Palestine is unfit for human consumption or use. Much of the depletion of agriculture in Palestine is due to Israel's tightened control over Palestine's natural resources. Natural aquifers once used by Palestinian farmers are now almost exclusively under Israeli control. According to the Palestinian Hydrology Group both the Western and Northeastern Aquifers are mainly replenished in West Bank mountains, yet Israel consumes almost 90% of their yield. Furthermore, the Eastern Aquifer is fully recognized as national Palestinian Aquifer, yet Israel currently utilizes nearly 70% of its waters.

Israeli Settlements/Land Rights

"Over the last four decades, Israel has confiscated more than half of the land in the West Bank, with the number of Israeli settlements reaching 134 (West Bank, including East Jerusalem), and the number of settlers, 500,000." Palestinian farmland and water resources have been confiscated for the construction of new settlements, military outposts and bypass roads. In the process Palestinian agricultural production infrastructure, including water wells, irrigation networks, agricultural roads, greenhouses and farms, have been destroyed. The construction of settlements and roads have also involved the destruction of olive trees, Which is Palestine's biggest crop and is a symbol for peace in both Israel and Palestine. Since 1967 Israel has uprooted over 800,000 olive trees in the process of building settlements. As of August 2008, there were 794 kilometers of bypass roads in the West Bank. All bypass roads have a 50–75m buffer zone on each side, where no construction is allowed. These buffer zones have led to a great loss of agricultural and privately owned Palestinian land. As of 2009 46% of the farmland in Gaza was either inaccessible or out of production. In addition to Israel's policies, the Palestinian authourity does little to politically challenge Israel and they have never allocated more than 1% of their budget to agriculture.

Trade Barriers

Israel also has imposed various blockades on trade in Palestine such as the blockade in 2009. These trade restrictions made the overall economy in Palestine decrease because they were essentially shutoff from the world market, and there amount of imports and exports decreased. Imports like used for agriculture like fertilizer have to pass multiple Israeli checkpoints in order for Palestinian farmers to gain access to them. Farmers also have to pass through check points when they try to export their goods to Israel. As a result their products often go bad or decrease in value due to the amount of time it takes to pass through all the Israeli checkpoints and some products never make it out of Palestine. Over the past ten years the amount of Palestinian products sold in Israel are 20% of what used to be sold.

Environmental NGO's

The progression of society in Palestine due to industrialization and increased education throughout the 1970's empowered villagers, women and students and provided a base for self help and resistance of the Israeli hierarchy. While some turned to violent opposition against the Israeli state, other groups of Palestinians looked for peaceful forms of opposition. These forms of opposition included peaceful protest, the formation of NGO's and collaborations with foreign organizations. These organizations aimed to increase the livelihood and living standards for palestinians and many of them were directly involved in the environment and agriculture of the region. Over time many NGOs were formed creating a Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network.

PARC

One of the earliest environmental NGOs was the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee (PARC). The Agricultural Development Association (PARC) was launched as an initiative by a small group of pioneer agronomists and farmers that emerged from the Palestinian voluntary movement in late 1970s. In early 1980s, the PARC’s role and achievements were recognized throughout the Palestinian territories, aiming at filling the deliberate gab in provision of agricultural extension and developmental services induced by the Israeli occupation authorities... In 1983, PARC became a recognized organization and committed itself to protecting Palestinian land from confiscation through plantation of the uncultivated areas and providing vulnerable farmers with various services.

ANERA

Another organization that emerged in the early 80's was the American Near East Refugee Aid. During this time period Israel was taking Palestinian farm land for settlements and security reasons and one of the only ways to get farm land was through land reclamation The ANERA imported bulldozers and tractors to reclaim hundreds of acres of land. The ANERA also introduced drip irrigation systems to Palestinian farmer which helped manage the water scarcity. Despite the efforts made by these various organizations to protect Palestinian agriculture, Israel continued to annex palestinian farm land to build settlements under the Ottoman Land Code of 1858.

Palestine Hydrology Group

The Palestinian Hydrology Group (PHG) was established in 1987 as an independent specialized institution with the mission to maintain its lead position in delivering quality and innovative actions that contributes to protect and develop local water and environmental resources. It also aimed as well to ensure just allocation of water and sanitation services to all Palestinian Communities and to build the capacity of water and sanitation practitioners. They also work to contribute in building a civil society that empowers the vulnerable groups, including women, to participate in decision making to promote good water governance and improve water and food security for all Palestinian Communities. PHG has nearly 65 staff members working on different activities operating out of six offices distributed within the Palestinian Territory and has annual budget of nearly $5 million US$.