The Turkish ambassador visits palm farms in Jericho and discusses increasing the import quota of Palestinian dates

Jericho - Ofoq News - The Turkish Ambassador to the State of Palestine, Ismail Gobanoglu, and his accompanying delegation visited palm farms and the palm sector in the Jericho and Al-Aghwar Governorates, and discussed with the farmers ways to enhance joint cooperation and support the production, marketing and export of Palestinian dates.

The ambassador visited Al-Raed farm (Hoshiya), where he was received by Dr. Ismail Deiq, the head of the Palm Growers Association, Muhammad Al-Qawasmeh, the head of the Farmers Union and member of the National Council, Jouda Issaeed, the head of the Farmers’ Union in Jericho and Al-Aghwar Governorate, the head of the Palestinian Dates Council, Engineer Ibrahim Deiq, the Deputy Mayor of Jericho, Khidr Al-Walji, and a number of farmers and owners of date marketing companies, in the presence of Dahoud Qatina, a representative of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA).

The farmers and their representatives stressed the need to increase the import quota of Palestinian dates to Turkey from 7,000 tons to 10,000 tons annually, stressing the importance of adhering to Turkish and European Union specifications, and conducting the necessary tests to detect residues and bacterial and biological contamination, through the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The farmers briefed the Turkish ambassador on the measures imposed by the occupation on the palm sector, the attacks carried out by settlers against farmers and their farms in the Al-Auja and Elisha areas in the city of Jericho, and the effects these practices have on the sector, which provides job opportunities for about 7 to 8 thousand workers annually.

The farmers welcomed the prospects for cooperation with Turkey, especially in the field of importing fertilizers and agricultural preparations, stressing the need to support farmers and develop production, marketing and export, in a way that contributes to enhancing the ability of the Palestinian date sector to grow and reach new markets.

The farmers also reviewed the aspects of Turkish support previously provided to the Palm Growers Association, which small farmers benefited from, in addition to the proposed project in cooperation with the Municipality of Jericho to establish a line for producing date packaging boxes.

They stressed that the palm sector constitutes an important economic pillar, and contributes to protecting lands and enhancing national income, as well as providing job opportunities and supporting the steadfastness of farmers in Jericho and Al-Aghwar Governorate.

For his part, the Turkish ambassador expressed his confidence in the quality of the Palestinian date product, reiterating his country’s position in support of the rights of the Palestinian people to freedom and independence, stressing the strength of the relations that bring together the Palestinian and Turkish peoples, and the importance of supporting the Palestinian people and assisting them in achieving their national aspirations.

The ambassador concluded his visit by picking dates, accompanied by a number of farmers, and inspecting the date production and packing line at Al-Raed Company.