In terms of agriculture, Ramallah District is impressively diverse in the types of crops produced. This is due to the diversity in the climate and growing conditions within the district.
The district's total agricultural area is estimated at 2,3831.1 hectares during the 1993/94 growing season. This area encompasses three distinctive agro-ecological zones within the regions of the Eastern Slopes and the Central High Lands (Ramallah Agricultural Department, 1994). The altitude of the eastern region ranges from 0 to 200 m above sea level, and rainfall is minimal, only 200 to 400 mm, therefore, agricultural production is limited. The topography of the central region rises westerly from 200 m to more than 1000 m above sea level. Average rainfall in this area ranges between 400 and 700 mm per year, making it quite suitable for rainfed agricultural production. The western area descends gradually to almost 500 m above sea level at the western border of the district and receives 500 and 600 mm of rainfall annually, making it also suitable for rainfed agriculture (see Figure 6.1).
Figure 6.1
Rainfed agriculture is dominant throughout the district, comprising 99.6%, (23737.7 hectares) of the total cultivated area in the 1993/94 growing season. The size of the cultivated area varies yearly depending upon the climatic conditions, especially with the start of the rainy season, which has a dramatic effect on the success of field crops, forages and vegetables. Only 93.4 hectares of the total cultivated area were devoted to irrigated agriculture in 1993/94 (Ramallah Agricultural Department, 1994).
The total plant production in the 1993/94 growing season was approximately 34,954.2 tons. Fruit trees occupied the largest area and have the highest yield by weight. Fruit accounted for 79.7% of the total cultivated area and 78.3% of the agricultural production. Field crops and forages accounted for 17% of the total cultivated area and 12.4% of the agricultural production. The remaining area and production were devoted to vegetables (Figure 6.2).
Figure 6.2: Total cultivated area and production of different cropping patterns in the Ramallah District for the 1993/94 growing season.
Almost all fruit trees are grown under rainfed conditions (18,959.6 hectares), only 20.1 hectares are used for irrigated fruit trees. Most of the cultivated fruit trees are located in the central mountains, though some are found in the western region, and very few in the eastern region of the district. The production during the 1993/94 growing season was 27,373.3 tons, rainfed cultivation contributed approximately 99.5% of the total production (Figure 6.3).
Figure 6.3 Total area and production of fruit trees under rainfed and irrigated cropping systems in the Ramallah District for the 1993/94 growing season.
Irrigated orchards of fruit trees are found on small areas of land in few villages. Lemons occupy the largest area with 12 hectares, followed by other varieties such as pomegranates, oranges, and guavas. The total production of irrigated trees was 142 tons with an average productivity of 5,500 kg per hectare for pomegranates and 9,000 kg per hectare for guavas.
Olives are the dominant fruit trees grown, occupying approximately 80.1% of the area devoted to fruit trees and 63.8% of the total cultivated area in the district. Olive trees are heavily cultivated in the central region, less in the western area, and sparsely planted in the east. The dominance of olives in the district can be explained by the following factors:
However, approximately 1.3% of the area planted with olives is covered with unproductive trees. Furthermore, in spite of their large area, olives contribute just 27.5% of the total production of fruit trees. This low production is, in large part, due to three factors: the alternative bearing phenomenon in the olive trees, where they bear heavily in one year and very little in the next; the old age of many trees in the district; low maintenance by farmers, especially in terms of soil cultivation, fertilization and the pruning of trees (Figure 6.4).
Figure 6.4: Total area and production of different rainfed fruit trees in the Ramallah District for the 1993/94 growing season.
Photo 3: Olive plantation in the Ramallah District.
Stone fruits, including plums, almonds (hard and soft), peaches, and apricots, are the next prominent with a total area of 1,705.1 hectares and a total production of 10,015.7 tons. Although, stone fruits covered only 9% of the total area of fruit trees, they produced approximately 36.6% of the total fruit production in the 1993/94 growing season. The productivity of stone fruits is generally high. Amongst stone fruits, plums are the most productive, averaging 9,700 kg/hectare, while soft almonds have the lowest productivity with just 900 kg/hectare (Ramallah Agricultural Department, 1994).
Fig trees covered an area of 1,170.7 hectares and produced 4,683 tons in the 1993/94 growing season. The average productivity of figs was relatively high, at 4,000 kg/hectare.
Grapes are not widely grown in the Ramallah District, covering only 811 hectares. Most of these vines simply run on the ground (810 hectares), only small area is planted with a trellis training system. Grape on trellis produces approximately 10,000 kg/hectare annually, compared to 5,000 kg/hectare for ground grapes. However, ground grapes have v130 liters of milk annually, and is capable of bearing twins in up to 80% of births. While Shami and hybrid goats can produce 270 liters of milk annually and produce twins in more than 90% of the births, the costs of feeding and management are much greater than for the local breeds. Thus the number of Shami and hybrid goats continues to be low, throughout the West Bank (Abo Omar, 1991).
Figure 6.8: Total number of sheep and goats in Ramallah District in 1994.
There are approximately 545 farms of broilers in the Ramallah District, with an average capacity of 1,689 birds per round. Four rounds are reared during the year. The number of broiler chicken produced in the Ramallah District was around 3,681,500 in 1994.
There are approximately 160 layer farms, with an average capacity of 1,637 hens (Ramallah Agricultural Department, 1994). The total number of laying hens are estimated at 236,000 of which 72% are old enough to produce eggs (PARC & Arab Thought Forum, No.2, 1994).
There are approximately 4,565 beehives in the district, of which 4,129 are modern hives and the rest are traditional (old) hives (Ramallah Agricultural department, 1994). Of the total number of hives, 63% have local bees (Baladi), while the rest have the Italian variety or hybrid varieties. On average, local bees produce 2.5 kg/year of honey, while Italian and Hybrid bees produce 11 kg/year. The total production of honey was 23,308 kg in 1994. Approximately 62% of the produced honey is sold in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and the rest is sold at the site of production (PARC & Arab Thought Forum, No.3, 1994).
The Ramallah Agricultural Department in Ramallah city, is a governmental department that provides extension services for farmers, especially in the areas of plant and livestock production. Occasionally, they are responsible for the distribution of free agricultural materials such as seeds, fertilizers, or vaccines to the farmers. There is also a veterinary section which provides all kinds of assistance for livestock production, such as, disease control and farmers training on new methods of livestock management.
A number of organized agricultural cooperatives specialized in particular products or activities (such as a beekeepers cooperative, or agricultural marketing cooperative) exist in the district. Their main target is to facilitate agricultural activities and marketing.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as PARC, MA'AN Center, the Bir Zeit Literacy Center and the Agricultural Services Center are also active in the area. They are especially focused on activities such as: the environmentally sustainable development of agriculture, especially through the adaptation of permaculture; improving the productivity of the land through more modern agricultural practices; improving farmer standards of living, and literacy; and the role of rural women in rural development and agriculture. Other centers such as the Birzeit Center for Occupational and Environmental Health and Science (COEHS) are involved in chemical analysis of water and soil and testing the pesticide toxicity levels in people.
