Olive trees harvest hit by man and nature
Palestine, Agriculture, 11/6/1997

Every second year is a good one. This year, it wasn't. Collecting the olive oil harvest in the West Bank was neither difficult nor beneficial. The bad weather that hit the country in mid-October had caused major losses to olive trees, but not only that.

Palestinians who, in the past, used to work their fields and earn their living from selling their harvest have gradually switched and moved to another source of income: working in the big cities, whether in the West Bank itself or inside Israel. Urban life, says Mohammed Khader, seems more promising to the youth. Khader, who himself owns a few hundred olive trees, said he used to work his own land every year but lately the harvest did not justify the time budget he allotted for his land. He decided to hand it over to someone who would do all the work in return for 75 percent of the harvest.

Shehadeh Izziddin from Ein Ariq, a village near Ramallah, explains: "We have some 2,000 olive trees in our village. Every year, we squeeze some 3,000 liters of oil. This year, however, we only made 300 liters." He explained that late rain was the major cause of the problem. Yet he admits that the youth in his village, including himself, have ceased to work their fields. He said that he decided to make his living from white washing walls and interior decoration in Ramallah where it pays better than selling olives or olive oil. He believes that many youths today are more fond of cosmopolitan life where fancy cars and western culture have become the name of the game. He said that many young men have deserted their fields to factories and urban jobs. "They no longer regard themselves peasants," he said, "some of them rightly believe looking after their land is not worthy, money-wise."

Palestinians complain they cannot market their olive oil abroad. Understandably, Jordan has banned any West Bank olive oil, probably not to harm the local olive oil harvest in the Kingdom. But no explanation could be found why the Israeli government has made banned olive oil shipments from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip. With such a limited market for olive oil in the West Bank, the demand has dropped and so did the prices. Last year, for instance, one 20-liter tin of olive oil cost $100 US. This year, however, the price is no more than $85.

Fares Al Jabi, head of the Agriculture Information Office in the Palestine National Authority, said that this year's product for all the West Bank was no more than 4,000 tons that sell at US $17 million, while the average product in other years varied between 15,000 and 20,000 tons, with an annual turnover of US $70 million. The deficit, he said, has contributed to the growing economic hardships of the Palestinians in the PNA areas and in the rest of the West Bank. The continued Israeli siege and the restrictions on exports abroad have dealt severe blows to the Palestinian economy, which in itself is in a terrible condition, said Al Jabi.

Previous Stories:
  Syrian higher council discusses 1998 agriculture budget   (10/28/1997)
  A historic event: Nile water reaches Sinai   (10/27/1997)
  Gulf Agricultural cooperation called for   (10/21/1997)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search