Activities- Partnerships and International Agreements

To this end, MASHAV has signed, over the years, dozens of agreements with international bodies and national partners, leading to numerous fruitful cooperative initiatives. Such partnerships include, among others, activities with UNCTAD, OAS, FAO, WMO, UNDP, UNESCO, WHO and countries such as Japan, Canada, and Spain. On these pages, we present some examples of successful cooperative projects from the year 2000.

New Agreements

In the year 2000, MASHAV signed several bilateral and multilateral agreements, including:

The joint Cooperative Development Program/Central Asian Republic (CDP/CAR) between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and MASHAV was designed and formulated during 1993/1994 following the collapse of the former Soviet Union and the emergence of the newly independent Republics of Central Asia.

The program focuses on the regional, sub-regional and field level of the agricultural sector in order to demonstrate a combination of appropriate know-how, technologies, training, marketing and management towards market-driven production and privatization.

During the program period, activities have been adapted according to needs and innovative programs have been developed and introduced in order to meet the ongoing changes occurring in the agricultural sector and the economy at large in these countries.

The activities formulated and implemented during the program period have had a significant impact in the rural/agricultural sector of the Central Asian Republics of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan through the development of demonstration sites and agribusiness centers.

The goal of the new MASHAV/USAID assistance strategy for Central Asia is to expand opportunities for the citizens of the five new nations to participate in improving their governance, livelihoods and quality of life through four primary objectives:

fostering small-scale enterprise and trade, including through establishment of agricultural consulting centers and demonstration farms building a more democratic culture better management of water and energy resources, including via environmental demonstrations in wetland management in the Aral Sea disaster zone and in biological techniques to drain waterlogged soil in the Ferghana Valley improved primary healthcare, especially for infectious diseases.

This joint project aimed at bringing Israeli and Canadian expertise to the service of Guatemalans from the Ixican Province disabled in the course of the civil war which ended in 1996. Canada, with its considerable experience in the field, provided training in physical rehabilitation of the disabled. Israel's contribution to the project was in the field of economic rehabilitation and the development of micro-enterprises. Each of the three partners in the project acted in parallel and covered its own expenses. Israel provided training, in the form of tailor-made courses, both in Guatemala and in Israel for Guatemalans who work with disabled people, particularly victims of the civil war. In the context of the project, Israel trained representatives of both the army and the former opposition combatants, social workers, nurses, doctors, community workers, NGO representatives and members of the indigenous communities. In addition, Israel assisted in the establishment of a development center in Nebaj, Guatemala, whose function is to provide a support platform for micro-enterprises. The development center was modeled after those developed in Israel for disadvantaged populations in conflict zones.

Regional Agriculture Program

Given the common agricultural conditions and challenges faced by the region's countries, as well as the importance of this sector to all the region's economies, agriculture has proven to be the ideal sector for promotion of regional cooperation. DANIDA, in cooperation with MASHAV and other regional partners, has made possible the forging of a comprehensive network of academic and professional ties in this field, in what has been one of the region's most successful cooperative projects. The three-year Regional Agricultural Program, sponsored by DANIDA and involving Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority is aimed at promoting joint applied research, extension and training. Each of the program participants is responsible for chairing one of five main program components: production of low-cost fodder, productivity of small ruminants, saline water for irrigation, dryland agriculture and post-harvest technology and marketing. Gender issues are covered by a special task-force on Women in Agriculture. The year 2000 included expert meetings, study tours and professional visits as well as training courses in all five areas of cooperation.

In 1992, the Netherlands-Israel Development Research Program (NIRP) was established by the governments of Israel and the Netherlands. Its main objective is to contribute to the processes of generating new knowledge and new ways of applying existing knowledge in areas that have a clear relevance for developing countries, where Israel can offer specific expertise and experience. The Program enables researchers to develop creative responses tailor-made to the needs of participating countries. It also enables the international networking of researchers. The Program is directed by a joint steering committee of scientists from both countries.

Research funded by NIRP: