Oxfam - Market Development Programme for Palestine

Results

The programme benefited and facilitated market shifts for 9,025 farmers (18% females) and small-scale producers (SSPs) by improving their production techniques, post-harvest and processing capacities, access to markets, and facilitating improvements in the enabling environment that regulates their operations. On overall programme level: 83% of targeted SSPs reported improved access to extension services. 52% of targeted SSPs reported undertaking collective purchasing and/or selling. 43% of targeted women SSPs reported increased influence in decision making at the household level and 35% reported increased influence at their business or cooperative level. 2 small-scale pilot SSP-friendly financial products were introduced to smaller scale producers, particularly women, and 57% of targeted SSPs reported improved knowledge of available and newly-introduced financial services. The volume of sales of targeted SSPs saw an overall average increase of 13.4%. 85% of targeted cooperatives reported increased profitability. 55% of targeted SSPs reported access to new, higher value markets. 90% of sampled urban consumers reported increased trust and willingness to purchase locally produced fresh and processed fruits. On value chain development level, the programme worked in six value chains (VCs); cucumbers, grapes and small ruminants in the West Bank, potatoes and olives in Gaza, and traditional food processing in both the West Bank and Gaza. Examples of results in different value chains include: 1. Cucumber value chain in the West Bank: The programme has contributed to expanding the cultivation of the baby cucumber variety in Jenin and the Northern Jordan Valley. Most of this shift has been from traditional cucumber varieties to baby cucumber. Although, most traditional cucumber producers have not directly benefited from shifts in the baby cucumber value chain, they have indirectly benefited from the shift as competing producers started cultivating baby cucumber, which reduced the supply of traditional cucumber varieties, thereby introducing some stability in the market, avoiding abundant supply and maintaining price-points for around 6,700 farmers who continue to cultivate traditional varieties of cucumber. Baby cucumbers have secured a pickling market in Israel. The current shift is primarily based on arrangement with one key Israeli buyer/ processor. Hence, any more substantial increase in baby cucumber production is quite unlikely in the absence of additional secured markets. The programme linked 210 female producers to the largest Palestinian supermarket chain, assisting them in obtaining a packing machine and participating in an annual festival. Important steps have been made in developing standards and specifications for cucumbers with the Palestinian Standards Institute, these standards, however, are yet not introduced at scale in the cucumber market system. 2. Grapes value chain in the West Bank: The programme has made a significant contribution in expanding the seedless grape variety, productivity, and production season in Jordan valley and Jenin. Seeded and seedless grape farmer hubs were established to encourage collective input purchasing and selling, thereby overcoming the price disadvantage of the small-scale farmer working alone. The hub model facilitated access to extension services and knowledge-sharing among farmers, though at limited scale (around 250 farmers), during the programme period.  3. Small ruminants value chain in the West Bank: The programme leveraged private investments to address constraints in the input and extension supply, production, processing and marketing domains in the small ruminants’ value chain, which are disproportionately affecting small-scale ruminant breeders. 4. Olives value chain in Gaza: Olive farmers reported improving their pruning and harvesting practices through delivered extension services. An olive farmer cooperative has been established which improved farmers’ access to inputs, new variety plants and extension services. The grading of olives is expanding pickling potential in Gaza. Farmers were able to increase the price of sale, now that the olives were sorted.  The cooperative membership is not large, however, and access to farmers outside the programme remains limited. This small-scale level has limited the cooperative ability to negotiate better and bigger deals. 5. Potato value chain in Gaza: The programme contributed to introducing new varieties of potatoes after extensive testing. While scale remains low, the traders and consumers in the local Gaza market have expressed positive opinions about the new varieties. Labelling of the new varieties has been a successful experiment, helping consumers to identify these varieties. New varieties of potatoes have a growing french-fries niche channel potential. 6. Food processing value chain in West Bank and Gaza: The programme strengthened the production and marketing capacities of 18 women-owned and women-led food processing cooperatives to facilitate their market access which, on an overall level, increased their sales and income. Increased levels of employment and wages paid to women was also reported.  On the programme policy and influencing level, the programme focused on several policy areas that deeply impact farmers, especially SSPs. Several policy recommendations were recommended by the programme and were adopted by relevant authorities such as cancelling income tax for farmers, activating VAT refund for all farmers, activating the Agricultural Credit Institute and the Palestinian Disaster Risk Reduction and Insurance Fund, adopting a national plan for the development of Access-Restricted Areas (ARAs) in Gaza, adopting a national strategy to improve management systems for Gaza central markets by Gaza municipality and improving quality standards procedures and certification for locally-processed foods. The programme also invested in influencing international actors to challenge Israeli restrictions on access to agricultural lands in ARAs in Gaza, as well as Gaza’s blockade. It advocated for donor states to challenge Israeli policies that damage donor investments, including the demolition and confiscation of donor-funded structures and assets in Area C. The programme incentivized SSPs in Area C to cultivate their land. Ein Sakout, for example, had over 3,000 dunums that were not being cultivated by farmers due to risk of demolition. The programme facilitated the planting of high-value produce over 150 dunums of land in Area C, paving the way for other investments and land development interventions in this sensitive area. On the market system development (MSD) capacity building level, the five main value chain implementing partners along with Oxfam team have improved their capacity in applying the market system development approach. By the end of the programme, four partners reported using the approach in other projects that they have developed and sought funding for.