Kufordan Coop for Agriculture and Irrigation a model of grassroots organization
The cooperatives had been registered on 2010, to address the farmers’ needs and to provide services mainly in the irrigation water, the cooperatives is functioning in agricultural locality in “ Marj Ibn Amer’ Meadow, 5 km to the west of Jenin city, this area is considered as “ food basket of Palestine, The village depending in irrigated farming, and located in very fertile area,
so the coop was founded provide service of supplying irrigation water to the farmers, the ground water wells in village were constructed before the occupation of West bank (1967)Israeli forces are preventing the farmers to construct new wells or to rehabilitate the old wells, furthermore most of the old wells dried because Israeli forced had been drilled more deeper wells, for that farmers are facing very cute challenges in offering irrigation water, so Palestinian farmers drilled new well without licence, which is never given to Palestinian farmers since 1967. Israeli occupation forces demolished more than 10 wells in village during 2011 and 2012.the coop had been targeted by the project in the beginning of 2011 when was newly registered, where the project worked on strengthening its capacities during the two previous years. The project had offered the inputs of administrative training, cooperative development training and awareness workshops, building strategic and business plan, management and financial system to the coop, where it started to implement in all its activities, as a new organization became having clear vision and mission and road map, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threat became know and taken into consideration, the membership increase by 16% to address the irrigation water challenges the cooperatives work on different paths; baying drilling machine ( the project contribute with 30%) the drilling machine is operating by the coops, three well had been rehabilitated, the coop work on advocacy and networking in water issue the coop chairman conducted several meetings with the minter of water authority, also the coop organized several field visit for the governor, minister of agriculture and the manger of water authority,
the cooperatives had been recognized as main actor in the villages in dealing with irrigation water, also at the governorate level in advocacy and networking.
the coop started in water extracting and distribution scheme, they contracted with well’s owner for 20 years, the coop rehabilitated the well, the production capacity for the well is 50 cubic meter, in general the coop contribute significantly in improving irrigation water situation in the village at all.
