Seminar on Agricultural Export and Growing of Spices
As part of the promotion of the field of agricultural exports from the Palestinian Authority to Israel and overseas, a three day seminar was recently held featuring lectures on topics such as diseases and pests in spices, a protocol for the protection of plants, and field trips to various locations around the country.
Date:
08.07.12
The three day seminar was held starting last Tuesday at the "Agricultural Center" in Bet Dagan, with the participation of 20 Palestinians from the agricultural sector from Judea and Samaria, including agronomists, supervisors and instructors. Among others, the seminar dealt with the required professional treatment of diseases, the elimination of pests in spice plants, and streamlining procedures and reducing bureaucracy for agricultural exports overseas.
The first day was devoted entirely to the growing of spices, how to protect them from pests and diseases of spice plants, and ways to deal with them. On the second day, the participants heard lectures about the supervision of spice plants and spices intended for export overseas, and explanations were given concerning supervisory systems and the process of exporting fresh spices to the U.S.A and other countries worldwide.
Later in the seminar, on the third and final day, field trips were conducted in the center of the country. The group initially visited a packing facility in Tel Mond, where they received an explanation about the process of exporting flowers and spices to the U.S, Russia and the other countries in Europe. Subsequently, the group toured Moshav Azriel, where they witnessed a demonstration of the supervision system in hothouses whose main crops are herbal and spice plants, chiefly mint, basil and various other herbs. "The seminar was of great value and I gained much knowledge in the field of spice pests", commented Shadi Salman, a Palestinian agronomist who took part in the field trip. "I was exposed to and assimilated all the relevant information which I intend to implement within the framework of my business".
The seminar took place with the funding of the Civil Administration and is one of a series of seminars held every year on a range of agriculture related issues. The seminars are conducted with full cooperation between both the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Agriculture in the Palestinian Authority.