West Bank: Dealing with drought

27 April 2009

Palestinian farmers in the West Bank face numerous challenges, writes Michael Robin Bailey.

Mohammad, Nail and Khader are in a bind. Oxfam, the European Union and local Palestinian organisation the Economic and Social Development Center of Palestine (ESDC) are helping them. All three of these North Jordan Valley Palestinians are trying to make ends meet. They are trying to raise their families. They are trying to work their way out of poverty. They are trying to get away from dependence on scarce and unreliable day labouring work.

The road through the Palestinian West Bank winds between ancient hills. Spring has brushed the stony slopes with a temporary wash of translucent green. Further north the vegetation gets lush. Roadsides are fresh with carpets of mauve and pink flowers. It's a strange place for an emergency project.

Mustafa, my food security colleague from Oxfam, explains that most of the year it is very different. The land north east of Nablus is semi-arid, the water is scarce and the local economy is directly affected. He talks about the economic shocks that besiege Palestinian farmers. I learn that last year communities in the area between Nablus and Tubas were running out of options. Drought, together with movement restrictions imposed by the Israeli government, was increasing costs for farmers and herders, therefore reducing their earnings.

In Al Aqrabaniya we stop at the side of a single-track road. Mohammed from ESDC and Suliman from the village council introduce us to Mohammad Sa'ed Assansour. He grows beans, peas and cabbages on six dunums (one and a quarter acres) that slope in a narrow strip up from the road. Last year drought threatened to wipe out his smallholding.

With funding from theEuropean Union Humanitarian Aid Department (DG-ECHO), Oxfam has been running an emergency project to provide seeds and irrigation pipes for one dunum of land. This has reduced Mohammad's expenses and has helped him get more from the land he farms. He has also benefited from training provided locally for him and 130 small-scale farmers. An agricultural expert visits regularly to check on Mohammad's crops and give advice.

Mohammad says that this project helps him to cope. He lives with the constant fear of another disaster like the end of 2000, when the second Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation broke out. Tighter movement restrictions imposed by the Israeli administration cost Mohammad his job as a truck driver and plunged him, along with his community, into nine years of poverty and uncertainty.

Two years ago Mohammad decided to put his effort into farming instead of relying on what he could earn from day labouring and the whole family got involved. It was a difficult choice. Back then a slight easing of movement restrictions made markets more accessible and profit from farming still possible. Even so it has been hard. Half of everything Mohammad and his family grow belongs to the owner of the land, under the share cropping agreement they have.

The hill that sits above Al Far'a is like a yellow cloud. Flowers like English buttercups sway in the breeze. They are rich grazing for Khaled Mahmoud Subah's flock of 20 sheep and ten lambs. The emergency project provided fodder, a kit of veterinary medicines and extra training in animal husbandry at a critical time last year when fewer crops were available for grazing due to the drought.

Sheep are a long-term investment. Khaled started with four sheep four years ago and has built his flock carefully since then. He thinks that in another four or five years he will have 50 sheep, enough to provide the main source of income for his family of ten. It's not straightforward. Just recently Khaled lost two ewes, both pregnant with twins, despite paying £100 for veterinary help. It's a familiar setback.

For Khaled it's been a long struggle to get this far. Before the second Palestinian uprising Khaled was earning good money on building sites in Tel Aviv. But just like Mohammad, Khaled eventually lost his job in Israel when the Israeli government made it impossible for him to move freely. Khaled's income fell from £200 to £25 a week. The emergency project has helped to safeguard his long climb back into supporting his family.

These two household heads are amongst the 300 that were helped to withstand the immediate affects of drought last year. Their stories are typical. The help provided to small-scale farmers improved their income. Providing families with small greenhouses gives them an additional way to earn money and guarantee fresh food. Fodder and veterinary medicines keep valuable livestock healthy. All these are supported by training and follow up advice from agricultural and veterinary specialists working for the local partner ESDC. All the farmers agree it's a very good use of European Union emergency aid. I asked Mohamed what was most useful, "All of it", he said.