Agricultural Development in the West Bank (ص 188)

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عنوان

Agricultural Development in the West Bank (ص 188)

المحتوى

363
Jenin, Nablus, Halhoul and Hebron. Although wholesale markets
are usually owned by local municipal authorities, most of them
operate under minimal control from respective municipalities.
While middlemen in West Bank markets enjoy a relatively weak
monopolistic position in comparison with other countries of the
Middle East, there is still ample room for improvement. Wholesale
handling of agricultural produce could be rendered much more
competitive by instituting adequate regulations to curb
monopolies and eliminate swindling. It may be helpful to learn
more in this regard from the successful experiences of the Amman
and Nablus wholesale markets.
Exploring the potential for selective agricultural industries
and expanding cold storage facilities.
Development of West Bank agriculture, as will become clear in
later sections, will entail a marked increase in the supply of
many farm products. Oversupply problems can be effectively
alleviated by setting up industries which take advantage of
seasonal surpluses and by holding part of any excess supply in
stores until subsequent improvements in the market situation.
Establishing successful agricultural industries and cold storage
facilities should be preceded by adequate studies on the supply
and demand dynamics of farm produce and of the market potential
for processed products and storage services. As a first step in
this regard it is proposed to commission a team of experts to
conduct a full-fledged feasibility study for establishing
appropriate industries and cold storage facilities in surplus
areas. Such studies could be sponsored and financed by the
Rural Research Centre at An-Najah University.
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Improving auxilary marketing services of agricultural products,
Most farm products are offered for sale with either little or
poor quality services performed during the marketing process.
Many such examples were cited earlier under olives, dairy and
poultry products. Such problems are as severe in the case of
citrus and vegetable products. Suggested improvements will be
discussed later under relevant sections in Chapters12, 13 and 14.
Land reclamation
This project aims at reclaiming land in classes III and IV and
putting it under active cultivation. This involves a number of
complementary measures, mainly the following:
a. Land development (removal of rocks and construction of
retaining walls).
b. Opening passable roads.
¢. Reconstruction of cisterns.
4. Distribution of appropriate fruit tree seedlings.
Establishing regional land development units.
Land development should be handled by regional units equipped
with a collection of heavy machinery such as bulldozers, graders,
and trucks. The services of these units would be made available
to farmers at a subsidized cost, preferably not exceeding half
of market rates. Ownership and management of proposed units
could either go to existing regional cooperatives (as has already
been done in Hebron and Nablus) or, if no cooperatives are
available, to private entrepreneurs. In both cases the finance
would be made available by the PACC within an arrangement which
gives a sufficient incentive to owners of these units. It is
Proposed to start by establishing three such units located in

هو جزء من

Agricultural Development in the West Bank

تاريخ

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المنشئ

Hisham Masoud Awartani

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