(Communicated by COGAT - Coordinator of Government Activity in the Territories)

For the third consecutive year, the Civil Administration coordinated the arrival of Palestinian farmers to Israe's main annual agricultural event - Fresh Agro-Mashov. The goal is to expose the Palestinian agricultural products to a wide market and to learn about the agricultural developments offered by the Israeli market.

Among the exhibition stands of the Israeli agricultural companies at the Fresh Agro-Mashov exhibition held on June 10-11 at the Tel Aviv Exhibition Grounds, stood the exhibition stand of Harvest Export, a Palestinian company from Ramallah, which came to the exhibition in coordination with the Bureau of the Agriculture Staff Officer at the Civil Administration in Judea & Samaria..

Fresh Agro-Mashov is Israel's main agricultural event, with the participation of cultivators, buyers, distributors, exporters, marketing chains and many agricultural bodies and entities from Israel and abroad. Different exhibition stands were erected at the exhibition, where the varied companies presented technological developments and agricultural products, with the intent of expanding the business relations and increasing the marketing activity of the various products.

The Bureau of the Agriculture Staff Officer at the Civil Administration took measures to allocate an exhibition stand for the Harvest Export Company from Ramallah, which produces spices, vegetables and strawberries, and sells products that have been grown in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded the erection of the stand. The goal is to exhibit their agricultural products, sell them and develop business connections with Israeli agricultural companies. In addition, the Civil Administration issued entry permits to Israel for about 250 Palestinian farmers to attend the conference, in order that they could learn and create business connections outside the Judea & Samaria region.

During the exhibition, Green Tale, an Israeli company that exports agricultural products to Russia, expressed its interest in exporting the products of the Palestinian company. The Agriculture Staff Officer of the Civil Administration, Samir Moadi, is expected to promote this collaboration, as Russia represents a huge export potential.

"Our goal is to promote the Palestinian agriculture, as well as its economy. We work hard every year in order to renew, develop and leverage the Palestinian agricultural exports", says Samir Moadi. "We are constantly working towards connecting Israeli and Palestinian bodies and strengthening agricultural cooperation. The Civil Administration invests great efforts in order to assist farmers in the West Bank grow quality products that can compete with any other product in Israel and the world."