Presentation: Barriers to Agribusiness in

Transcript:Presentation: Barriers to Agribusiness in:
Presentation: Barriers to Agribusiness in Palestine General economic information Source: World Bank, 2019 Palestine’s economy saw a growth in the first half of 2019 but is expected to enter negative growth in 2020 Real GDP growth is expected to be at 1.3% by the end of 2019 The PA’s debt stock is at US$6.1 billion as of June 2019 Exports currently stagnant at 19-20% of GDP due to trade restrictions Imports reached 60% of GDP as of 2018 Unemployment rate in the Palestinian territories is at 26% as of Q2 2019 Number of employed in the local market was 871,000 in 2018, according to PCBS census Palestinian Territories (West Bank and Gaza) Source: Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics GDP growth percentage 1995-2019, expected to settle at 1.3% by the end of the year. A PCBS census from 2010 puts the total number of agricultural laborers at 292,000, of which 52% were full-time workers and 48% were part-time workers. More recent PCBS studies only show the percentage of agriculture laborers in comparison to the total labor force, and put it at 6.7% as of 2017. Agricultural statistics: Number of laborers in the PCBS 2010 census Source: PCBS Agricultural statistics: PCBS study of Palestinian economic activity from 2014-2017 shows decline in percentage of labor force participation in agriculture. The rate has gone down from 10.4% in 2014 to 6.7% as of 2017, compared to a rise in other sectors, mainly commerce and services. Source: PCBS Agricultural statistics: As of 2016, agriculture contributed a total of 3.2% of the national GDP of Palestine. Agriculture in Area C Area C includes majority of fertile farmland in the West Bank, and agriculture is vital to food security for Palestinians The Land Research Center (LRC) estimates that almost half a million dunums in Area C are not cultivated by Palestinians due to restriction, and 187,000 dunums are in use by settlements According to the World Bank, 326,400 dunums of arable land are accessible by Palestinians but require proper irrigation Cultivation of these lands would require 189 MCM, which exceeds the limit of 135 MCM allocated to Palestinian territories Sources: OCHA, UNDP Water and land access restrictions Jordan Valley and Mountain Aquifers are main sources of water; they are cross-border sources meaning they must be shared equally between Israel and Palestine Oslo II Interim Agreement (1995) ruled that Israel would control 71% of water, while 17% would