Agriculture in the Palestinian territories is a mainstay in the economy of both countries. The production of agricultural goods supports the population's sustenance needs and informally employs 90% of the population.On the other side, industrial and/or digital technologies are expanding in global phenomenon with an emphasis on digitalisation, automation, control and robotics in various operations related to soil cultivation management, optimization of crops nutrition, crop tending etc. Automated robotic systems can bring to agriculture flexibility in farmer decision making to select the optimal technological arrangements during the production process of the field crops, which entails not only economic but also the environmental and social aspects.The use of (digital) technologies could allow the agricultural sector to achieve big leaps in Palestine, especially in increasing productivity and introducing the cultivation of new strategic classes of crops. The knowledge about advanced agricultural technologies have therefore become key for the farmers in these regions, throughout the process of cultivation and harvest. Precision agriculture is an innovative concept in the countries of Middle East and especially in Palestine. This is not specifically about the technologies, but about the overall concept putting accent on understanding how the technologies can make the farming more accurate and controlled. The innovative character of the project serves not only the capacity-building aspect for Palestinian HEIs, but also addresses the challenges faced by the EU countries regarding ICT, technological developments, and creating a global research framework for innovation and development regarding the integration of newest (digital) technologies into agriculture and rural development.
BENEFIT aimed to enhance PAL HEIs research and fostering innovation in Precision Agriculture Specifically, it aimed to train PAL staff, develop an open and flexible curriculum in precision agriculture aligned with the Palestinians local needs, create an e-Repository of resources, pilot courses, establish a digital agriculture hub, build an international research network, and promote sustainability and market adoption in Palestine, enhancing expertise and fostering innovation in agriculture.
Palestine’s agriculture holds significant importance although it faces environmental, technological, and political challenges. BENEFIT focused on capacity-building in Palestinian HEIs to enhance agricultural resilience. It addressed environmental, technological, and political challenges by updating education, bridging tech gaps, and fostering innovation. Through collaboration, BENEFIT ensured graduates were equipped to navigate evolving demands, securing a sustainable future for PAL agriculture.
<< Background >> Palestine’s agriculture holds significant importance although it faces environmental, technological, and political challenges. BENEFIT focused on capacity-building in Palestinian HEIs to enhance agricultural resilience. It addressed environmental, technological, and political challenges by updating education, bridging tech gaps, and fostering innovation. Through collaboration, BENEFIT ensured graduates were equipped to navigate evolving demands, securing a sustainable future for PAL agriculture. << Objectives >> BENEFIT aimed to enhance PAL HEIs research and fostering innovation in Precision Agriculture Specifically, it aimed to train PAL staff, develop an open and flexible curriculum in precision agriculture aligned with the Palestinians local needs, create an e-Repository of resources, pilot courses, establish a digital agriculture hub, build an international research network, and promote sustainability and market adoption in Palestine, enhancing expertise and fostering innovation in agriculture. << Implementation >> Based on the readiness reports prepared by each PAL HEIs, EU partners conducted training for PAL teachers and technicians on Curriculum and Bologna principles, and digital technologies in agriculture. With collaboration between partners, good management practices and QA monitoring. PAL partners developed curricula, implemented new practices and established infrastructure in PA. PAL partners piloted the new developed curriculum among their HEIS and & evaluated these outputs, then adopted them. << Results >> The BENEFIT project resulted significant results, including the development of 18 innovative curricula at PAL HEIs based on six developed Terms of References. Capacity building trained 60 teachers and technicians, establishing and upgrading six research centers. Piloting phases at PAL HEIs transformed real-life study processes. Establishing a MOOC Education platform for Open Educational Resources (OER),a BENEFIT Repository, and publishing 5 newsletters, one book, and collaborative researchers.