Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Country: Canada, occupied Palestinian territory
Objective
To enhance the resilience and productive capacities of vulnerable herding families to protect their livelihoods and increase their productivity.
Key Partners
Ministry of Agriculture (MoA)
Beneficiaries Reached
6 399 households (38 394 people)
Activities Implemented
- Rehabilitated and constructed 178 community cisterns with an average storage capacity of 164.4 m³/cistern – 33 more than the originally planned number.
- Distributed 317 tonnes of high-resistance, drought-tolerant barley and vetch seeds to 2 115 farmers (150 kg per household) to plant 25 000 dunums.
- Installed 97 824 m² of waterproof plastic sheets to 1 019 herders (872 in West Bank governorates of Jenin, Nablus and Tubas, and 147 in the Gaza Strip).
- Established a community livestock market space to serve around 2 000 herders, as well as a livestock product trading space, fodder storage space and a veterinary service centre.
- Reviewed and improved MoA’s information management system.
- Distributed one feeder and two drinkers to each of the 293 herders in the Gaza Strip.
- Provided 338 beekeepers with varroa disease treatment (Galbitraz).
- Treated 16 566 beehives, belonging to 417 households, against varroa disease.
- Trained 1 000 herders on animal husbandry, animal nutrition and water hygiene.
Impact
- Reduced the cost of purchasing water for famers, which subsequently reduced production costs and contributed to increased household incomes among families.
- Provided women with easier access to water for household use.
- Helped create up to 550 temporary jobs for rehabilitation works.
- Enhanced fodder availability through the production of 1 800 kg of cereal fodder and 1 000 to 1 500 kg of hay per farmer – 3 800 tonnes of seeds and 2 640 tonnes of hay by May 2017.
- Improved grazing land carrying capacity and ensured feed for animals.
- Mitigated the impact of severe access restrictions on grazing land.
- Decreased economic pressure on households, and more specifically on women.
- Protected herders’ animals against extreme weather events through the rehabilitation of damaged animal sheds.
- Improved market facilities and expanded its usability to allow herders, including women and their associations, to market their value-added products in a clean and safe environment.
- Strengthened animal health controls in the area and subsequently enhanced the value of animals in the market.
- Allowed women, some for the first time, to sell their livestock in a safe, controlled market space.