Qalqiliya's quest for fairtrade olive oil - Sarah Eve Hammond Reports

21 October 2008

Olive producers are severely affected by the Israeli government's policies towards Palestinians; the confiscation of Palestinian land, the building of the Wall (a concrete wall, or fence in parts, erected by the Israeli government) and movement restrictions. Consequently, olive oil producers are unable to access their traditional markets in the occupied Palestinian territory, Israel, and Arab countries, hindering their ability to make a secure living. I am here today to meet Palestinian Olive farmers in the West Bank to find out more about olive oil production.

"Look at this", says Haitham, holding a handful of green olives spotted with dark circles. "You see how the olive is affected by the olive fly. We won't use these olives for the oil, otherwise it would spoil the taste." Haitham walks through the olive grove belonging to Nitham, a Palestinian farmer from the village of Immatin in the West Bank. Around us, some 500 trees provide enough olives to help support his extended family.

All revere olives in this part of the world. Pickled, baked in bread, pressed for oil or used to make soap, olives are a very noble product which thousands of families across the country rely on as their main source of income.

Oxfam works with the Palestinian Farmer's Union (PFU) and the Bethlehem University Fairtrade Development Center (FTDC) to enhance the quality of olive oil of our partner co-operatives. All have also been working to obtain the very first Fairtrade accreditation for Palestinian olive oil. The project, funded by the European Commission, has just started and already there is much enthusiasm around it.

"At first, we talk about the quality of the olive oil. We want to convince farmers they need to aim for higher quality," says Haitham, an agronomist working for Oxfam. "Since the olive trees require little human input and are a rain fed crop, we explain to farmers that with some small gestures they can really improve the quality of their harvest."

To produce top quality extra virgin olive oil, every step of the process is important, from sorting the olives, to installing olive fly traps and pressing the olives immediately after picking. By following these simple tips and being committed, farmers are able to increase the quality of their olive oil production and obtain superior oil - which commands a better price.

Slowly, the important concepts of fairtrade make their way into the co-operative. The first thing to be done in Immatin's co-operative was to make sure the olive oil is sold at a fair price and that farmers are protected from market fluctuations. For instance, the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation that delivers the fairtrade certifications has set the minimum selling price of one litre of extra virgin olive oil in the occupied Palestinian territory at £3.

50 members strong, the co-operative recently invested in buying a new olive press. "It's important to have the farmers participate financially," says Haitham. "If farmers invest their own money into buying this important piece of equipment, they are all likely to invest their time and energy into the project and make it a long-term success for the community."

"The Palestinian quota for olive oil to the European Union is 2,000 tons per year and at the moment we can hardly export 500 tons," he continues. "People from across the world are discovering the taste and health benefits of olive oil and we need to be able to produce more. The market is there, waiting for us."

As 2008 is an alternate bearing* year, the farmers of the Immatin co-operative should have a generous harvest of about 25 tons of olive oil. However, a severe episode of frost last spring and the recurrent drought are estimated to have diminished the production of the olive trees by 40 per cent, increasing the financial burden on farmers and highlighting the need for a sustainable olive production throughout the occupied Palestinian territory. Moreover, because water resources are controlled by the Israeli authorities and the lack of water harvesting cisterns, farmers are prevented from doing supplementary irrigation to their trees, which would mitigate the effects of the drought.

But cultivating a parcel of land in the occupied Palestinian territory can prove a risky activity, as Nitham explains. "In 2002, some settlers started moving to a new [illegal] outpost on the land nearby mine. As I was starting to harvest the wheat I had planted in between my trees, the settlers beat me up and shot me in the leg. In the end, they gathered all the wheat, put it under the olive trees and set them on fire. Again, in July this year (2008) they burned 200 olive trees belonging to different farmers in the village. I lost another 50 trees."

The farmers of Immatin are adamant that despite the risks and the hardships they sometimes face, the sole mention of the word olive is enough to make them feel proud of their work. "It's the Holy Land," one says. "My roots, the heritage of my forefathers" claims another one. But the last word lies with Abu Suleiman: "The olive tree is my soul!"

* Alternate bearing: The tendency of fruit trees to bear fruit in 2-year cycles, consisting of large crops followed by little or no crop.