Palestinian agronomists receive training on avocado production

A group of Palestinian agronomists and agricultural engineers recently completed training in avocado cultivation. The avocado was chosen because of the ever increasing global demand for avocado, which is considered "green gold". The purpose was to improve the avocado crop of the Palestinian territories, as the terrain is very similar to that in Israel and the West Bank. The participants toured the avocado plantations in the north and met with Israeli growers.

The Palestinian participants came from the areas of Hebron, Qalqiliya, Tibas and Jenin. Some of them already grow avocados for export to Arab countries. During the studies, the desire was expressed for cooperation with Israeli growers to enable the export of "Palestinian avocados" to Europe. About 40% of the participants were women, most of them agricultural entrepreneurs with a particular interest in avocado growing.

Prof. Yair Hirshfeld, one of the initiators of the Oslo process, lectured during the programme on possibilities for cooperation in agriculture and their implications for the peace process.

The programme was delivered via combined funding from The Middle East and the Peace Process Department at the Israeli Foreign Ministry, in cooperation with the European Union (through ECF) and Galilee International Management Institute.

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