Agriculture
Moon Valley
The Moon Valley project is a British-Palestinian initiative to give Palestinian growers in the Jordan Valley access to the UK leading supermarkets of Sainsbury’s, M&S, Co-op and Waitrose. It is supported by the Palestinian British Business Council, The Portland Trust and others.
The first shipment of Palestinian herbs arrived in the UK in December 2009. 1 tonne of herbs is now shipped each week. There are plans to expand the range of products and suppliers and volume of exports next year. By 2013 it is estimated that £10m of produce could be exported to the UK.
Agribusiness Supply Chains
The Portland Trust is working with TechnoServe, a large US non-profit with expertise in agriculture value chain development, to establish a project that identifies investment opportunities for agribusiness in the West Bank and Gaza. TechnoServe has more than four decades of expertise working with entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers to develop thriving supply chains and SMEs.
The project, which will involve a team of local and international agricultural experts, aims to identify 4-6 new agricultural value chains and products that have the potential to drive job creation and growth in the Palestinian Territory. Moon Valley and Oxfam GB will work alongside The Portland Trust and Technoserve as project partners. A steering committee that includes the Palestinian Minister of Agriculture and project partners will be established once funding is in place. Existing businesses and investors will also be identified to implement the new product lines.
