Agricultural cluster: strategic sector at the national and economic levels
Thus, the said report is a contribution of the Civil Group for the Promotion of Governance to the Government's implementation of the agricultural cluster plan.
Enhancing participation and transparency in the preparation and implementation of the agricultural cluster plan increases citizens' confidence in the cluster model
The report showed that there was an urgent need to promote the principle of effective participation in the process of preparing and implementing the cluster plan, by involving cluster members in the planning process and their rotation, and by disseminating and clearly announcing the results.
The report also recommended that the reality of each cluster should be reviewed using methods and tools to study different needs, ensuring the involvement of working institutions and representatives of farmers (such as active associations), and agreeing on clear criteria for the selection of cluster initiatives and thus differentiation based on those criteria. In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture, in its capacity as the main authority for the agricultural sector, should issue periodic reports on the progress of work in the cluster areas, the extent of the achievement of the agricultural cluster plan in the various regions and the challenges facing its completion, and publish it on the Ministry's web page and on social media, so that it can be made available to the public.
There is a need to strengthen the system of accountability, evaluation and follow-up in implementation.
The report pointed out the estimated budgets for all cluster initiatives, and that planning was based on funding expectations and sums that need to be provided by the government through the Ministry of Finance and various institutions. It also depends largely on the contributions of the beneficiaries, which later collided with the need for the government to transfer budgets to face the pandemic and to confront the plans of the occupation by joining forces. Accordingly, the plans and their implementation have become dependent on the ability to allocate money, with high expectations of farmers' contribution, which makes the reality of the cluster plans at stake.
The report will focus on innovative collective initiatives that will strengthen the relationship between members of the same community and move away from complex individual initiatives.
Training programme to unify understanding of the cluster development model
The report also recommended building the capacity of workers involved in planning and implementation to apply integrity indicators and tools to ensure easy accountability and flow of information, with a view to enhancing confidence in the agricultural cluster plan.
While the main researcher in the Aman Coalition, Mr. Rawhi Harb, praised the Ministry of Agriculture in the session, as it is the main reference for the agricultural sector and its response to the publication of the Sector Strategy for Agriculture 2021-2023. He praised the development of the agricultural sector (Ariha, Al-Aghwar, Jenin, Qalqilya) on the ministry's page, calling for following the pattern of disclosure with the citizen through the Ministry's electronic page and / or social media sites, so that they are available.