Legal Unit Assessment

Promotion of inclusive agricultural growth to ensure improved living standards and resilience of vulnerable communities in Area C of the West Bank

Terms of Reference for legal Unit gendered capacity development assessment

Background & Introduction: 

PFU in Partnership with Oxfam is implementing a new project funded by EC, entitled “Promotion of inclusive agricultural growth to ensure improved living standards and resilience of vulnerable communities in Area C of the West Bank”. The project aims to Increase the income of small-scale women and men farmers and the protection and the use of their lands in Area C through upgraded capacities, improved land and water management practices and policies.

CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND 

The state of Palestine total area of cultivated land is estimated at 1.2 million dunums, or 21% of the total area of the WBGS, of which 90% is in the West Bank and 10% in the Gaza Strip. Eighty-one percent of the area is rain-fed; the remaining 19 % is irrigated. While rangeland amounts to 2.02 million dunums, the area available for grazing is only 621,000 dunums. In addition, forests stretch over an area of 94,000 dunums.

The Palestinian Agriculture sector strategy - “Resilience and Sustainable Development” 2017-2022, is focusing on Sustainable management of agricultural natural resources as one of its strategic objectives which will contribute significantly to the achievement of the national priorities of the State of Palestine. One of the governmental bodies contributing to this initiative is the Ministry of Agriculture’s Legal Unit, which was founded in 2000 as a department, and expanded in 2005 into a unit that now contains two sub-sections, the Department of Legislation and the Department of Legal Counsel.  

The Legal Unit’s tasks include providing legal counsel and recommendations regarding the law to the Minister of Agriculture, in addition to giving recommendations and reviewing laws related to agriculture that are issued by the Council of Ministers. They also handle legal violations regarding land and agricultural projects, follow up on smuggling and illegal imports in collaboration with Customs Control and the General Secretariat, and issue licenses for land and investments. The unit’s main point of reference is the Deputy Minister, and they have minimal contact with other departments within the ministry. They have expressed interest in supporting and facilitating more investments in Area C, but their impact is currently limited due to the bureaucracy affecting communications within the ministry.

PURPOSE OF THE ASSESSMENT

The purpose of this assignment is to identify the gaps and weaknesses in the MoA’s Legal Unit, with a special focus on any communications issues the unit struggles with. The information and recommendations this assessment will provide will be used by PFU to provide capacity building training to the unit, increase the unit’s efficiency and reduce their waiting time through better communications, and help the unit support and facilitate more agricultural investments in Area C of the West Bank.

Download Full ToR

Please submit the proposal (technical & financial offer) and requested documents by sailed envelops to the Palestinian Farmers Union Headquarter (al-Berieh, close to the representative office of Netherlands)  no later than the 27th  of November 2019, addressing to

For any questions, feel free to contact PFU’s office: 02 240 0792