Final Report Olive Oil Without Borders III
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Olive Oil Without Borders III: Building Regional Support for Reconciliation and Economic Cooperation NEAR EAST FOUNDATION Partners for Community Development since 1915 Final Report September 29, 2016 – January 31, 2019 Near East Foundation WEST BANK/GAZA: Trust Building – 3rd Floor, Nablus Tel: +970 9 2396961× Fax: +970 9 2396965 NEW YORK: 110 West Fayette Street, Suite 710 Syracuse, NY, USA 13202 × (315) 428-8670 www.neareast.org Olive Oil Without Borders III No. 294-A-16-00011 Final Report TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................... 1 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ................................................................................... 2 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... 3 II. PROGRAM OVERVIEW ...................................................................................................... 4 III. ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS ...................................................................... 5 IV. PROGRESS AGAINST WORK PLAN ............................................................................ 18 V. CHALLENGES, LESSONS LEARNED, AND OPPORTUNITIES ................................ 18 VI. SUSTAINABILITY ............................................................................................................ 19 VII. PROJECT INDICATORS & IMPACT ............................................................................ 20 APPENDIX A: OLIVE OIL WITHOUT BORDERS III-YEAR 3 WORK PLAN ............... 27 APPENDIX B: PROFILE OF LEAD FARMER—TAREQ SMADI ....................................... 29 APPENDIX C: PROFILE OF JORDANIAN LEAD FARMER – MARYAM FREIHAT ...... 30 APPENDIX D: FEMALE JORDANIAN LEAD FARMER WORKS TO IMPROVE OLIVE PRODUCTION IN JORDAN ................................................................................................. 31 APPENDIX E: GEO-MIS/ TRAINET ..................................................................................... 33 ANNEX F: OLIVE OIL MARKETING REPORT .................................................................. 40 This publication was produced for the review of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It was produced under the Olive Oil Without Borders III: Building Regional Support for Reconciliation and Economic Cooperation, implemented by the Near East Foundation. This report is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of the Near East Foundation, and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. Cover Photo: Olive trees in the West Bank. Near East Foundation 1 Olive Oil Without Borders III No. 294-A-16-00011 Final Report ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS FFS Farmer Field Schools GDP Gross Domestic Product GIMI Galilee International Management Institute IOOC Israeli Olive Oil Council NCARE National Center for Agriculture Research and Extension (Jordan) NEF Near East Foundation NGO Non-Governmental Organization OOWB Olive Oil Without Borders PARCC Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration PCARD Palestinian Center for Agriculture Researches and Development POOC Palestinian Olive Oil Council ToT Training of Trainers USAID United States Agency for International Development Near East Foundation 2 Olive Oil Without Borders III No. 294-A-16-00011 Final Report I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Olive Oil Without Borders III: Building Regional Support for Reconciliation and Economic Cooperation (OOWB III) brought together Israeli, Palestinian, and Jordanian olive oil value chain actors to foster economic collaboration and opportunity in the sector. Joint trainings, cross-border activities, and roundtables helped to bring together actors in the olive oil sector. More than 800 olive oil actors participated in more than 30 project activities designed to build mass support for peace and reconciliation. As a result of these activities, 97% of participants surveyed agreed that they had a better understanding of the other that helped in changing their attitude positively. This final project report provides an overview and analysis of the project, its activities, and its key impacts. The project ended early on January 31, 2019, as USAID West Bank and Gaza ceased operations. Key accomplishments from the final project period from October 1, 2018 - January 31, 2019 include the following: • 30 farmers (including 8 women) participated in peer-to-peer training sessions in Jordan, where they learned about improved olive production techniques. • 272 in kind grants of stainless-steel tanks distributed to farmers to improve olive oil storage. • 17 women’s microenterprise grants distributed. • Cross-border roundtable on olive oil trade facilitation held, bringing together 28 individuals to discuss ways to improve cross-border trade. The group drafted a list of recommendations to improve trade, which could be used as the source for a policy paper. Key accomplishments over the full project life cycle (September 29, 2016 – January 31, 2019) include the following: • Cross-border launch workshop. Workshop held in Amman in early 2017 with 40 farmers, mill owners, traders, olive oil association members, and other key stakeholders to officially launch the third phase of the Olive Oil Without Borders project. The workshop fostered dialogue on common issues in the olive oil value chain and developed cross- border networks. Outreach events in Jordan also introduced the project to potential participants. • Cross-border training workshops. Trained 58 new lead farmers (17 Palestinians, 20 Israelis, and 21 Jordanians) from 37 villages about new olive cultivars and technical information related to fertilization, irrigation, and modern technologies. • Farmer field schools in Jordan. The project established four Farmer Field Schools in Jordan to evaluate current production and demonstrate improved practices to farmers. The project team conducted a number of field visits, tracking production, soil samples, water retention, and use of organic fertilizer—comparing areas using usual farming techniques and those that use improved techniques, fly traps, irrigation, etc. • Peer-to-Peer Sessions. 440 farmers participated in peer-to-peer sessions, where they were introduced to olive production best practices and techniques for organic and premium olive oil production. These meetings also helped to generate a sense of shared Near East Foundation 3 Olive Oil Without Borders III No. 294-A-16-00011 Final Report economic interest and support for cross-border collaboration • In Kind Grants. Distributed 480 in kind grants (201 to Jordanian participants, 119 to Israeli participants, and 160 to Palestinian participants). These included 81 ladders and 80 pruning shears to farmers in Jordan, and 442 stainless steel tanks for oil storage, and 27 motor saws for farmers in Israel and the West Bank. • Women Agronomists Training. 30 women agronomists from the West Bank, Israel and Jordan participated in a two-day cross-border workshop in August 2018 focused on developing opportunities to improve women’s farming. • Mill Owner Trainings & Mill Renovations. In its first year, the project hosted a cross- border workshop in Jordan for 43 mill owners. In the second year, NEF organized one cross-border field visit for 31 participants in Jordan to visit Zyoud Mill and Zyoud farm in Al Azraq. The project worked closely with partners and mill owners to select mills for renovation support. The project completed renovations at 20 mills in the West Bank. • Cross-border roundtable. The project hosted a meeting between traders in Jordan, Israel and the West Bank to discuss the main obstacles in cross-border trade. The participants sat in groups and provided recommendations to be used in a policy paper. • Cross-border trade meetings. The project hosted two meetings between traders, mill owners, and farmers, most representing their own medium enterprises focused on pressing and/or trading olives and olive oil products. 36 participants from the three regions joined these meeting (19 unique participants), where they were able to discuss cross-border trade and share ideas, opportunities and challenges. • Establish women’s cooperatives. The project arranged a field trip in Jordan for women’s cooperative members to visit three women’s cooperatives in Jordan. After the field visits, representatives participated in microenterprise development trainings. 30 female project participants received grants to establish microenterprises. II. PROGRAM OVERVIEW Building on the success and momentum of the USAID-funded Olive Oil without Borders (OOWB) project, NEF aims to expand previous iterations of the project, OOWB I and II, to new communities in Israel and the West Bank and to Jordan. The OOWB III project planned to work with 1,000 olive farmers in 37 communities in Israel, the West Bank and Jordan to (1) expand economic cooperation between farmers, mill owners, and distributors; (2) build working relationships between business and policy leaders through cross-border workshops and joint initiatives that will facilitate trade and mutual understanding; and (3) develop 30 women-owned businesses through cross-border collaboration between women’s cooperatives. Olive Oil Without Borders III (OOWB III) is based on the hypothesis that cross-border economic cooperation offers a