APN | Kuwait

9 August 2023

 

Over two decades dedicated to bolstering the Palestinian agricultural sector, safeguarding lands from confiscation, and fostering food sovereignty in Jordan by planting 2.8 million fruit trees in both countries, APN's qualifications led to its reaccreditation with the Development & International Cooperation Affairs at the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a second time. This accreditation enables APN to receive financial support from Kuwaiti donor entities.

APN seeks to expand its projects' success by partnering with trusted Arab donor entities, as it does not accept any conditional support from foreign sources. Aligned with this strategic vision and the gracious support from Kuwaiti entities, the Million Tree Campaign (MTC) witnessed remarkable accomplishments in 2022. This effort facilitated the planting of an impressive 200,500 fruit-bearing trees by more than 1,500 Palestinian farmers. Furthermore, the campaign contributed to the construction of 9 water wells in essential locations including Jerusalem, Hebron, and Bethlehem.

In Jordan, through the Green Caravan (GC) programme, APN empowers and supports small-scale farmers, especially in marginalized and impoverished areas, particularly in the Jordan Valley, which is a vital source of Jordan's food supply. With Kuwaiti support, the organization successfully provided inputs for production to 500 Jordanian farmers in 2022, including half a ton of seeds and 1,600 fruit-bearing trees. A network of irrigation systems measuring 142 km in length was established, aiding in irrigating 250 dunums of land. Additionally, 6 agricultural reservoirs were constructed, and 20 beehives were provided to beekeepers.

The accreditation arrived while APN is in the midst of preparations to celebrate its twentieth anniversary and develop the action plan for the upcoming season. During this period, meetings are being arranged in Kuwait with the aim of introducing its programmes and fostering the expansion of partnerships.

Since 2000, over 3 million trees have been uprooted by the occupation in Palestine. In response, APN dedicated its efforts through the MTC to assist farmers who are unable to plant and protect their lands, a situation exacerbated by the exploitation of an old land law. This law permits the occupation to confiscate any land left uncultivated for three years. This manipulation of the law has enabled Israel to appropriate over one million dunums of land in the West Bank for the construction of settlements and their associated infrastructure.

Additionally, the MTC contributes to the strengthening of the Palestinian economy through its focus on agriculture and food production. Olive cultivation, in particular, supports around 100,000 Palestinian families, yielding an annual income of up to $240 million. The monetary worth of the trees that have been uprooted amounts to $64 million on an annual basis.