August 5, 2008
One of USAID’s primary objectives in the agricultural sector is to raise the incomes of Palestinian farmers and increase on-farm employment. One way to do this is to produce high-value fresh products for the export market. As such, the USAID/West Bank and Gaza Mission assisted five farmers in the village of Faraa, near the town of Tubas in the Northern West Bank, to produce high-value fresh herbs for export to Europe and North America. These farmers had previously been producing open-field fresh vegetables for the local market. USAID assisted the farmers with the installation of 65 dunums (6.5 hectares) of greenhouses and a 500 square meter cold storage packing house. USAID also helped the farmers identify and exploit potential export markets, first in Europe through an Israeli export company and subsequently in the U.S directly to the purchaser, and assisted in the identification of shipping and marketing companies. Partnership with Israeli farm businesses was crucial, as USAID identified growing technologies (irrigation, soil medium, and seed varieties) being used by Israeli producers of similar soil type and climate, which were adapted to the Tubas region. The Mission also worked closely with Israeli authorities to remove obstacles to movement and access and enable this highly perishable product to arrive quickly and in good condition at its final destination. As well, the Mission worked through its U.S. government contacts to obtain US Department of Agriculture (USDA) approval so Khaizaran’s fresh products could be sold in the U.S. This is the first time that fresh Palestinian produce from the West Bank was shipped directly to a buyer in the United States.
According to Diab Abu Khaizaran, one of the owners of Khaizaran Agrobusiness Company (aka Khaizaran Herb Farm), "Khaizaran Herb Farm is the second largest employer in the Tubas Governate and therefore it has a very positive effect on the local economy.” The Khaizaran Company has created 130 permanent jobs and, in the 12 months ending May 2008, exported more than 100 metric tons of fresh herbs with a value of 423 thousand euros. Said one farmer of the project, “I used to work interruptedly. I could not work in the winter. Some days I worked and others I did not. But work here is excellent. It is permanent.”
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Workers at the Khaisaran Herb farm
cutting chives |
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"I used to work interruptedly. I could not work in the winter. Some days I worked and others I did not. But work here is excellent. It is permanent."
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