West Bank & Gaza – Grants Management

Building Stability, Developing Local Capacity

ACDI/VOCA has been increasing the competitiveness of agribusinesses and farmer groups and strengthening food security among marginalized households in the West Bank region since 1992 through two consecutive USDA 416(b) programs and other USAID- and World Bank-funded work. Proceeds for both of the USDA programs were generated from the monetization of approximately 127,500 metric tons (MT) of U.S. wheat and corn and were used to develop the capacity of local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and at-risk and food-insecure Palestinian communities. Both programs also supported broad-based agricultural and agribusiness growth in conjunction with natural resource and drought management activities.

Under the most recent USDA 416 (b) program, which began in 2002 and ended in 2007, ACDI/VOCA generated $10 million in proceeds, which were used to fund projects through more than 20 local NGOs and community-based organizations (CBOs) to establish systems and build capacity to meet the needs of at-risk and food insecure Palestinian communities. The program supported broad-based agricultural and agribusiness growth in conjunction with natural resource management initiatives. ACDI/VOCA-West Bank & Gaza’s grants management program awarded grants based on the technical and financial merits of local organizations. After grants were awarded, ACDI/VOCA provided training and assistance to grantee staff members to improve NGO capacity and to ensure maximum impact. The technical skills and knowledge of ACDI/VOCA-West Bank & Gaza staff were also frequently utilized in extension visits and training.

ACDI/VOCA’s past initiatives in the West Bank & Gaza region helped mitigate the impact of drought and helped rural communities become more resilient to future droughts. In three short years, ACDI/ VOCA and partner organizations provided services and/or extension to over 13,000 beneficiaries and exceeded planned program targets resulting in increased access to resources necessary for food production. Below is a summary of some of the achievements of ACDI/VOCA and partner organizations:

Water resource development activities

• 564 cisterns constructed
• 3,260 farmers adopting water conservation practices due to training and extension
• 72,867 cubic meters of water harvested from newly constructed structures such as cisterns and pools
• 2,771 dunums of land served by irrigation networks

Agricultural development activities

• 474 home gardens constructed
• 69 greenhouses constructed
• 493 greenhouses rehabilitated
• 4,150 dunums of land under production
• 6,322 farmers trained in Natural Resource Management and organic farming

In addition to these results, ACDI/VOCA realized several significant impacts in the Palestinian agribusiness sector. ACDI/VOCA worked in the cash crop, olive oil, animal feed and processed foods sectors to increase the quality of Palestinian products and marketability of Palestinian products. To this end, the following activities were conducted:

• 40 firms participated in study tours/missions in potential export markets
• 857 beneficiaries trained in business and marketing
• 1,358 individuals trained in processing techniques
• 9 local workshops held to address policies and procedures
• 10 research reports written in potential export markets
• 61 firms participated in international trade exhibitions
• 57 agribusiness firms and cooperatives received business development counseling or support

Under the USDA 416(b) program, ACDI/VOCA also helped to fund numerous innovative projects, including:

• several initiatives launched to improve export potential as well as domestic sales of Palestinian products, including earning the new ISO 22000 food safety standard for 4 Palestinian food processing companies and EurepGAP certification for 24 strawberry and 5 cherry tomato farmers in Gaza
• 14 Palestinian food manufacturers attaining the Palestinian Quality Mark, a locally recognized symbol of quality, for 17 products
• creating model of collective olive oil pressing to assist Palestinian farmers to produce export quality olive oil and to promote private sector investment in the olive oil sector

For more information, contact Piero Gonzalez at pgonzalez@acdivoca.org.