Medicinal herb industry takes root in Palestine
The cultivation of medicinal herbs in Palestine has been growing over the past decade in an industry that benefits from the experience of Palestinian former workers in Israeli settlements.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Cultivating medicinal herbs is one of the most promising and productive agricultural sectors in Palestine. Palestinian medicinal plants reached global markets after almost 10 years of work that started on May 3, 2007. In cooperation with al-Khaizaran Company for Agricultural Products, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) had launched the greenhouse project for medicinal herbs in Ras al-Fara, northeast of Nablus, north of the West Bank, as part of the Palestinian Agriculture Rehabilitation Activity. With that, the cultivation of medicinal herbs for export began and continues to grow.
On Oct. 30, Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah opened the Agripal Garden for Fresh Herbs where medicinal herbs like coriander, parsley and sweet basil are grown and exported. The garden is located in the northern al-Aghwar area, on the eastern side of the West Bank on the Jordanian border.
The herbs are cultivated on 1,200 dunams (297 acres) in the West Bank. The total production capacity is estimated at 2,500 tons per year and is worth $20 million, Mohammad al-Lahham, the director of the Vegetables Department at the Ministry of Agriculture, told Al-Monitor. Lahham said these products are way too expensive to be sold in the local market, explaining that 95% of it is “exported to the United States and Europe due to the high cost of production.”
Two key factors have contributed to the success of medicinal herb cultivation: cooperation with and funding from international organizations like USAID and participation in international expositions. Both helped enable Palestinian workers who worked in Israeli settlements to be lured over to Palestinian companies.
