Union of Agricultural Work Committees

The Union of Agricultural Work Committees,(UAWC) is non-governmental organization based and resisted in Palestine. UAWC was established in 1986 in response to the vulnerable socio-political circumstance of farmers that resulted from occupation policies in confiscating lands and water in the early eighties and therefore directly harmed the interests of farmers and Palestinians.

The UAWC was founded as a non-profit organization by a group of volunteers and agronomists. The priorities of the UAWC at the beginning focused on struggling with the Israeli Occupation’s procedures that marginalized agriculture and destroyed the infrastructure of Palestinian agriculture. The UAWC in its early days depended on volunteers completely, in addition to forming agricultural committees in the WB and GS, to set the priorities of farmers and help the UAWC in implementing its programs and community activities.

In 1991 the UAWC received its first funding and hired three full time employees, two part time employees, in addition to 15 volunteers. Then the UAWC started to develop its basic law and its financial and administrative systems while its activities focused on olive oil marketing, agricultural extension and land reclamation. In 1993 the UAWC developed its organizational structure, consisting of a general assembly, board of trustees, general director, and two executive directors, one in the WB and another in GS, in addition to administrative and financial coordinators, and activities employees.

From 1993 to 1997, the UAWC developed its projects, programs and its working staff members and thus, the number increased to reach 13 male and female employees in the WB and 20 in the GS. By this time the UAWC’s activities focused in this time on reclamation of lands, agricultural extension, marketing and implementing projects to create job opportunities in the agriculture sector.

From 1997-2000 the UAWC developed its organizational structure and built funding relations and partnerships, and its services expanded to reach new villages and communities. There was also an expansion in its activities to include animal breeding and care, education, and managing water resources. At the end of this period, the UAWC consisted of 29 male and female employees in the WB and 23 in GS.

from the beginning of this century and after the deterioration of the economic circumstance of the majority of Palestinians and mainly farmers, a change occurred on the nature of the UAWC’s programs as emergency projects became the bulk of its work. The UAWC thus worked during this period on projects to create job opportunities and distributing production inputs to farmers, supporting house gardens, house economy, providing drinking water resources for farmers and countryside inhabitants, in addition to programs of distributing aid, and work for food. Yet, UAWC believes that the significance of agriculture and land for the Palestinian people goes beyond the economic dimension: With cultivation of agricultural products and the people's relationship to their land being deeply rooted in the Palestinian culture, protecting the status of the Palestinian farmer and reactivating their national role is an integral part of the liberation struggle of Palestine

http://uawc-pal.org/MainEn.aspx→

2. UAWC's Vision & Mission

UAWC ever growing ambition to improve its capabilities and efficiency in addressing the harsh reality of the agricultural sector in Palestine, as well as coping with the current developments on the ground, is the framework that drives the UAWC’s search for improvement opportunities, where the UAWC is looking forward to build an institution that is distinct from others in the quality of its services and its outreach, the UAWC is mainly interested in developing the Palestinian farmer and strengthen their steadfastness against the Israeli's violations of social, economic and national rights Vision :

Palestinian society that enjoys food security and social justice, holds on his land in a free democratic Palestinian state, and exercises sovereignty over his resources; where farmers contribute effectively in all life aspects.

Mission:

Empower farmers and their families, and enhance cling to their land in an agricultural developmental framework at the public level.

3. Strategic Goals

• Improving the livelihood of small farmers and empowering steadfastness of peasant.

• Protecting farmers’ rights and activating their national role.

• Enabling UAWC in responding to emergencies especially those related to climatic changing, natural disasters and occupation.

• Enhancing the UAWC’s sustainability and the effectiveness of its administrative and financial management as well as enhancing its contribution in national issues.

4. UAWC's current programs

Since its establishment, UAWC has been providing its services to wide range of beneficiaries and agricultural sub-sectors, but the UAWC’s work can be categorized by function, development and relief service, the following points highlight the most recent activities and programs implemented by the UAWC:

A. Deprived Families Economic Empowerment Program (DEEP), which aimed at improving the economic standards of living for the Palestinians, through stimulating the economic growth for Palestinian families, reducing the phenomenon of unemployment and improving the livelihood standards in the poor rural communities.

B. Improve the living conditions for the marginalized citizens and the women's empowerment in the occupied Palestinian territories to improve the economic and social situation of the people affected by the practices of the occupation in the West Bank and Gaza

C. Improvement in the community of Birien, district of Hebron, Palestine through electrification , solar pumping water and reinforcement of productive activities to promote economic and social initiatives and encourage the diversification of economic and sustainable social initiatives in the eastern regions of the West Bank

D. Juthoor: Land, Water, and Human Resource Development in Vulnerable Areas of the West Bank to improve the marginalized farmers living in the eastern slopes of the West Bank to through the development of land water Human Resources.

E. Land and Water Resource Management for Agriculture Development in the West Bank Program to Improve the food security and reduce poverty in vulnerable rural areas through comprehensive development of available agricultural sources including land, water and human capacity.

F. Natural Resource Management Programmed to increase Palestinians' income and living conditions for small-scale Palestinian farmers in the areas, which suffer from limited resources of income and lack of economic alternatives, through the development land and water resources to increase its productivity.

G. Market Oriented and Sustainable High Value Crops Sector Development in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to improve the capacities and self-reliance of small and medium scale high value and export crops in the WBGS, so that their products can compete in national and international markets, through developing sound and sustainable commercial processing and marketing systems, on the basis of improved chain of production and enhanced capacities and involvement of all relevant stakeholders.

H. Moving herders from aid dependence to self-sustaining growth through livestock husbandry development and market expansion (SULALA) to improve food security of Palestinian male and female herders by protecting, sustaining and developing livestock production

I. The National Seed Bank to protect and Conserve Genetic Origins in Palestine, achieve the sovereignty of The Palestinian farmers on their food, increase Palestinian benefits from their hereditary resources, and by documenting these resources through The use of biotechnology

J. Transitioning from Relief to Sustainable Livelihoods (R2S): Strengthening Food Security in West Bank and Gaza to improve the resilience and sustain the livelihoods of 3,150 conflict affected, food insecure households (18,900 individuals, at least 9,450 of whom are female) in 26communities in the West Bank and Gaza

K. Struggling for food sovereignty : An orientation for climate change impacts to alleviate the Israeli occupation negative impacts on climate change through protecting the Palestinian right to reach for food sovereignty