Last June 23rd, the FPSC along with its local partner PARC organized a workshop to identify the activities of the recently approved Agreement 2013-2017 “Sustainable and equitable rural development in the West Bank”, including the startup of responsible use and management of land and water resources for small and medium farmers, funded by the AECID, to be implemented in the towns of Tulkarm and Qalquiliah.

In these workshops, the FPSC team met with members of local communities, mayors and representatives of the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture of the two locations to explain what will be the selection of beneficiaries and which locations will participate in the Agreement

Thus it has been established that during the months of July and August a series of workshops will be held in the towns of the Agreement intervention to identify beneficiaries who will participate. Moreover, the action will focus geographically in two associations of Tulkarem and Qalqilya where they want to promote a sustainable rural development model beginning with putting in use vacant land with a model of responsible production that uses and manages sustainable resources, and promotes the use of clean energy, alternative water sources and modern and not environmentally harmful agricultural practices.

The Agreement also will include a strategy for strengthening the role of cooperatives in the value chain of agricultural production and will create economic, social and development bonds among farmers groups and other relevant groups of communities, especially women’s groups.