Town hall meeting with regards to Farmers’ problems :

Since the outbreak of the current Intifada, the Israelis enforced unprecedented suppressive measures against Palestinian people, which resulted in severe damage to infrastructure and grave economic losses. Agriculture was one of the most badly affected sectors.

Recognizing the serious problems faced by the farmers, Civic Forum Institute held town hall meetings in Tulkarem, Tubas and Jordan Valley areas.

The first meeting on topic "Agriculture and Farmers’ Problems" was held in Deir Al Ghsoon. Among the speakers were members of the PLC, representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Agricultural Production Marketing Society.

Speakers discussed the high prices of seeds, fertilizers, water, machinery and labor. The need for subsidies from the government was expressed in connection with the problem.

During the discussion the farmers formulated demands on training in new technologies, production planning and measures to meet the competition from Israeli products. In order to insure their livelihood, farmers needs to sell what is harvested at a price that can be estimated already when buying seeds, fertilizes, etc. The lack of market information and organized distribution makes any planning impossible, and often results in overproduction or shortage of certain products. In both cases farmers stand to loose because the overproduction cannot be solved and the underproduction cannot be compensated through higher prices, since cheap Israeli products would immediately fill the gap.

As a result of the meeting the participants decided on forming a Farmers Union in the area. Civic Forum will assist with training on organizational issues.

Apart from direct farmers' problems the lack of an organized agricultural policy implies problems elsewhere in the society.

Civic Forum took an initiative to film the activities of smuggling agricultural products in and out of Palestine. Illegal cross-border movement of agricultural products not only violates health regulations, but also deprives the authorities of statutory charges, such as VAT. The film was broadcasted by Tulkarem central TV Station, and as an immediate result the introduction of increased control on the checkpoint stopped a number of smuggling attempts.

This meeting was organized in cooperation with Al-Quds Open University. The speakers emphasized the significance of the Tubas and Jordan valley areas for the Palestinian agriculture, as about 50% of the Palestinian agricultural products come from these areas, which accounts for 4.7% of the national income. Israeli destruction of cultivated land was considered by the participants as one of the main problems faced by farmers.

Special achievements:

• Following the town hall meeting held in Beit Jala, the PLC members started to work on issues discussed during the meeting i.e. corruption, necessary amendment in the labor law, and compensations for the people whose property was destroyed by the Israeli shelling.
   

• Following the town hall meeting held in Ubaydiya on the topic "The present political situation", a special committee was set up to raise funds to pay for the lawyers representing the Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli prisons.
   

• The Shawawrah Women Club and the participants of the civic education sessions held at the club said that the club could have been closed without holding activities in cooperation with the Civic Forum.
   

• A member of Tulkarem town hall meetings committee in cooperation with the Civic Forum produced a documentary about smuggling Israeli agricultural produce into the city. After broadcasting the documentary on the local TV and after the town hall meeting discussing the farmers’ problem, a committee was formed to work on establishing a Farmers Union in the Sharaweya area. A further achievement was the apprehension of a number of smugglers by the security forces.
   

• A detailed work plan to end illiteracy among the women in the Ama’ri refugee camp was drawn by the women of the camp who participated at the town hall meeting discussing social participation.
   

• After the town hall meeting held in Aqaba village on the topic "Palestinian workers during the Intifada" a committee was formed. The committee was able to find a three-day job for more than 250 unemployed workers.
   

• Following the town hall meeting "Social Participation and Civic Work" in Zboba, The Mother's Council and the women in the village formed a committee to establish an office for The Mother's Council and to build a school for the girl-students. The committee was able to get a promise from the government to complete the project.
   

• The Civic Work group assisted in having a vacant plot of land donated to the Taiba Sports Club for building a playground for the club. Land development for that purpose has been commenced.
   

• After discussing social participation, the Tanak Village Women's Committee drew up a plan to have a hall for its activities and to dig wells for water. Their goals were achieved with the help of governmental institutions and NGOs.