Agricultural Development in the West Bank (ص 207)

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Agricultural Development in the West Bank (ص 207)

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Improving of natural grazing pastures.
The quality of natural pastures is often poor due to neglect
and overgrazing. Much is needed to be done in this regard,
Dut the potential to do so is severely restricted by existing
political and administrative hurdles.
Learning from successful trials by ICARDA and in Jordan,
pastures could be mterially improved by sowing them with a
mixture of forage crops which would thrive under marginal
amounts of rainfall (over 250 mm). But such a practice
requires some vital complementary services, such as restricting
access to pastures during the first year and guarding against
excessive grazing in subsequent years.
A practical way to supervise such a project in the absence
of a national authority would be its adoption by regional
cooperative societies. Cooperatives should fence desired
plots before sowing them, carry out necessary cultural
practices, hire guards to protect germinating pastures against
intruders and divide pastures into plots to permit grazing
in rotation, patronizing flock owners would be charged
reasonable fees to help cover part of the maintenance
expenses.
It is proposed to start out this project with a pilot trial
in Hebron or Jenin on an area of some 1000 donums. The area
would be rapidly expanded in subsequent years in view of
acquired experiences, The expertise of FAO and ICARDA could
be of great help. A good start would be to send one or more
technicians from each cooperative for intensive practical
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training on ICARD\'s experimental farm in Aleppo (Syria).
Promoting forage production on private land.
The Department of Agriculture has demonstrated a pronounced
profitability for growing a certain type of forage legume,
(Medicago hespida) on cultivable land, possibly instead of
grains. Clean fallowing should also be abandoned and land be
sown with legume mixtures instead. Furthermore, it may be
possible to utilize, for this prupose, land of young olive
orchards and emerging plants should preferably be left
ungrazed or lightly grazed during the first year.
The resulting forage crop would be very helpful in supporting
a larger sheep flock and raising its production potential.
The proposed project calls for a package of services, namely
a. Intensifying extension efforts in eligible areas. This
could be done through extension agents and other technicians
employed by voluntary agencies, the Agricultural Development
Corporation and cooperative societies. Presumably, these
agencies would cover needed costs from their own resources.
b. Distributing seeds to interested farmers at subsidized
Prices. The cost of subsidy would also be undertaken by
voluntary agencies or ADP.
c. Provision of mechanized cultural services on farms where
area and topography permit. These services would be
Provided by machine service units mentioned earlier,
So no additional capital expenditure would be needed.
Reconstructing cisterns in grazing areas
Availability of sufficient drinking water may play a critical

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Agricultural Development in the West Bank

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المنشئ

Hisham Masoud Awartani

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