TİKA Provides Agricultural Support to Palestinian Local Cooperatives

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) implemented 4 projects focused on agriculture, energy, and employment in order to increase the production capacity of 4 cooperatives that are affiliated with the Palestinian Cooperative Union for Products Marketing and operate in the center and districts of Salfit Governorate.

As part of the project implemented in partnership with the Palestinian Cooperatives for Products Marketing operating in Salfit, additional sowing and planting activities were carried out in the greenhouse and aloe vera field on the lands owned by one of the Cooperatives.

Not only strawberries, but also high-income-generating crops, especially beans, will be grown in the greenhouse, which has an automated drip irrigation system and will benefit 52 members of the cooperative. Aloe vera will be grown on a land of 2,000 sq. meters and harvested three to four times a year. The crops to be grown on the land, which will benefit 280 members of the cooperative, will be marketed to plants manufacturing personal care products. 

In the third project, a solar power system was built in a plant owned by a cooperative in the town of Deir Ballut in Salfit, in order to reduce the financial burden on the cooperative. A thyme drying oven was also installed in the same plant to save time and increase the production volume. Thanks to this Turkish-made drying oven, sun-drying processes will be replaced by oven-drying. The project will support 56 Palestinian families. 

Lastly, dough kneading and shaping machines provided to Zaytoun Cooperative will increase the production volume of the cooperative. The fully-automated machines supplied from Türkiye will increase the production capacity of the cooperative, which delivers bread and hot meals to local schools. The project will benefit 48 members of the cooperative and provide jobs to 2 workers and 6 delivery drivers.