Abstract
Olive production constitutes the primary source of agricultural income in Palestine. Olive cultivation is a traditional industry in Palestine with potential for high value addition. However, most olive farmers in the West Bank operate small-scale farms of less than 1 hectare, and their cultivation practices are rather extensive and mostly oriented for self-sufficiency. Compared to olive farmers in neighboring countries with similar geographic and climatic conditions, their production is characterized by low productivity and market participation, and the limited adoption of agricultural technology. In addition, farmers face numerous risks and uncertainties under the Israeli occupation, including land confiscation and movement restrictions, limitations in accessing land and water, agricultural inputs and markets, and the disturbance by Israeli military and Jewish settlers.
Facing these severe constraints, intensifying olive production and adding value for their products among smallholder farmers is a critical challenge. Despite the huge volatility of olive production due to the biennial bearing, olive farmers in the West Bank have a potential to enhance their productivity and production efficiency. Hence, improving productivity and promoting market participation, as well as expanding sales channels for processed olive oil, represents one of the few viable options for olive farmers to increase their income as well as to enhance their food security and livelihood. In this context, the research question was raised: what are key motivating factors for olive farmers in West Bank to foster innovation in olive production towards the development of innovative olive ago-based cluster?
Given above, the objective of this research is to empirically examine the impact of RCT intervention on farmers’ behavior, adoption of technology, productivity and market participation of olive farms in West Bank. It aims at empirically identifying the key motivating factors, i.e., “Nudge” for empowering farmers, for the enhancement of adoption of new technology, productivity improve and increasing market access. In the RCT framework, olive farmers will be randomly selected from three governorates where olive cultivation is prevalent. Dividing farmers into treatment and control groups randomly, treatment intervention of agricultural extension and information treatment as a nudge on the farmers are made only in the treatment group. Comparing those of farmers in control group, how their behavior and performance in olive production have changed will be observed as a result of these treatment interventions to identify the treatment effect. Ultimately, this research aims at contributing to empower farmers, improve their income, sustain resilience and development the West Bank in line with the national agricultural initiative “Advancing Sustainable Agriculture in Palestine: Seeds for Change”.