The almond tree is a promising high value crop that can bring economic security to Palestinian farm families.

A few years ago, farmers were uprooting almond trees because of pests, diseases and lack of market.

CORE has worked intensively starting in 2015 tackling the most urgent problems and challenges almond farmers suffer, like the almond seed wasp that LOCF donors helped defeat. (In 2014 this pest claimed more than 70% of almond production; in 2016 only 3%.) Now farmers are planting almond trees again.

CORE covered all important almond best practices in a series of workshops and extension visits in 12 villages in 2018. Trainings were given in grafting, pruning, pollination, fertilization and more. Weak pollination affects almond productivity, as identified by CORE and the farmers.

CORE is introducing seedlings of the correct almond pollinators in place of damaged trees in existing orchards. They want to improve agricultural practices like introducing honeybees and intercropping flowering cover crops in orchards, and grafting pollinators onto a significant portion of the existing trees.

Almond grafting workshops were the first in the campaign. CORE implemented a series of practical trainings for almond farmers from the major almond cultivation villages. Five villages and 83 farmers were trained by a highly qualified expert in almond grafting in the method and proper timing, and materials were distributed so farmers could start grafting their trees immediately.

Thank you for your help in supporting organic almond farmers in Palestine!