Weekly Progress Report July 8-19, 2012

The project focuses on the agricultural, agribusiness, tourism, and ICT sectors, with the goal of increasing the number of Palestinian products and services meeting international standards and specifications. In the agricultural sector, olive oil roll-out activities are set to begin in August with 60 new model farmers and orchard plots identified throughout the West Bank Governorates. The project will provide training-of-trainers programs on irrigation, post-harvesting, and tree maintenance to increase olive production. Additionally, the Saline Water Demo is underway, with recent progress including the ordering of 4 units of the Aqua4D water treatment system and training resources for local farmers and agronomists. In the agribusiness sector, the Association Building workshop for the Fresh Herbs Industry took place in Ramallah, where discussion centered on the current disparate status of fresh herbs in the West Bank. Attendees expressed a high interest in association and future workshops, specifically on the current legal framework in the West Bank. The project also contributed to the CIBER Assessment Workshop for the Fresh Herbs and Date Sector, which was completed in Jericho with 38 participants including major stakeholders in the industry. In the tourism sector, the Digital Tourism initiative is underway to deliver a demonstration project for social media and conversion. Two hotels and tour operators will be supported in developing and upgrading their online and conversion/booking ability. Site rehabilitation is also underway, with visits completed to 18 identified sites, including Emmaus, Mar Saba Trail, Taybeh trail, and Qumran as a comparative site. In the ICT sector, the Oracle Training initiative is underway, with the goal of completing the technologies training by September. Key milestones met this week include collecting names of candidates from companies and starting the vetting process. The project also contributed to the Next Step for Trade and Investment, a Specialized Marketing company that will be representing 2nd tier stone and marble producers and participating at the Dubai Big 5 trade Show in early November. The COMPETE Project has made significant progress in its first two weeks, with several meetings and workshops taking place across the four sectors. The project has contributed to several intermediate results, including linking local value chains to international value chains, increasing the number of Palestinian products and services meeting international standards and specifications, and increasing demand and product diversification. The project has also made significant progress in its planning and implementation, with several milestones met, including the completion of the CIBER Assessment Workshop for the Fresh Herbs and Date Sector and the successful completion of the CIBER Workshop in Hebron. The project has also established partnerships with several local and international organizations, including the Hebron Chamber of Commerce and the Union of Stone & Marble. The COMPETE Project will continue to work towards its goals in the coming weeks, with several activities and workshops planned, including the Digital Tourism Conference and Workshops in September 2012 and the setup of a joint team between COMPETE and Peres Center to complete the 3G Economic Study.