Almond Grafting Workshops report
Almond tree in bloom in Palestine
Almond Grafting Workshops 2017: CORE trained 83 almond farmers and almond specialists with grafting techniques that are important in organic agriculture. The farmers were supplied grafting materials to immediately start to graft their own almond pollinators. This project helps economic security and food security for almond farmers.
Almonds are becoming as important as olives to a Palestinian farmer’s income. Palestinian native almonds are the Hassan Al-Assad variety which are big and sweet. Once devastating problems like the Almond seed wasp were controlled by CORE in 2015, their research and training has focused on improving quality and quantity by organic means to ensure the farmer’s livelihood.
Grafting the correct pollinators onto farmers existing trees is very important to introduce true pollinators into poorly-pollinated orchards. Attendees heard the theory, and then had a practice session. These sessions were recorded and videos posted on CORE’s Facebook page and YouTube to share the training throughout Palestine.
Farmers were also supplied with grafting materials to start to graft their own almond pollinators. CORE followed up with farm extension visits to each farmer. These visits will be an ongoing part of the almond best practices campaign. Thank you for supporting this research and extension by Palestinians for Palestinians that will lead to greater food security and economic security for Palestine.