Duaa Ismail an agricultural engineer regularly inspects her project which is the first of its kind in Palestine for broccoli cultivation inside greenhouses placed on an area of one dunum near her house in Anabta town east of Tulkarem city.
Ismail told the PIC that her selection of broccoli was to break the Israeli monopoly of this plant in the local market of the West Bank.
A Palestinian alternative
Engineer Ismail told the PIC reporter that she aims through her project which includes about 2200 broccoli seedlings to end the Israeli control of broccoli growing and find a Palestinian alternative.
Ismail pointed out that what distinguishes her project is that it is an organic project that is free from any chemical compounds adding that she started the project one month ago and it will bear fruit within two months.
The Director of the Agricultural Relief in Tulkarem Ahed Ghanem affirmed to the PIC reporter that the goal behind choosing this plant is to find a pure Palestinian substitute.
Ghanem questioned the environmental health condition of the Israeli products adding that most of the vegetables sent to the Palestinian market are either second or third rate products. Moreover the Israeli vegetables sent to the Palestinian market are usually irrigated with treated waste water or sprayed with harmful chemical fertilizers to achieve the highest production without taking into consideration the resulting health complications.
He called on the Palestinian ministries of Agriculture and Economy to ban any Israeli product from entering the Palestinian markets especially that the Palestinian farmers have learnt how to supply the Palestinian markets with new products that are able to compete the Israeli ones.
A life dream
Engineer Duaa Ismail said that her life dream was to have a greenhouse noting that she remained unemployed for two years after her graduation from al-Najah University. “With this project I was able to create a work opportunity for me and my family who always help me” she added.
Abdulhamid Isamil Duaa’s father told the PIC reporter that his daughter’s dream became the dream of the whole family who have become members in this project asserting “We do not only seek to create a job opportunity for our family through this project but also to support the steadfastness of the Palestinian farmers in this land.”
The Palestinian agricultural engineer does not face any obstacles in her project but she wishes to receive the appropriate marketing for her product with the help of Palestinian institutions supporting the local products.
Duaa Ismail dreams that her project will grow beyond the boundaries of Tulkarem city and extend to all parts of the West Bank especially that broccoli is a very healthy plant that kills cancer stem cells and protects against osteoporosis and Prostate cancer.
