Ramallah- “Jerusalem” dot com- Bank of Palestine and “Pal Pay”, the leading company in the field of electronic payment in Palestine, provided their contribution and support to the launching ceremony of the Farmers’ Market, organized by the World Food Program in the Ramallah Municipality Park under the slogan “Youth – Digital Solutions”. The future of climate-smart agriculture in Palestine”, in partnership with the Ministries of Agriculture and Social Development, and with the participation of a number of stakeholders in the agricultural sector, in addition to male and female farmers who own projects and emerging home agricultural products supported by the World Food Program in addition to other development organizations .

The Minister of Agriculture, Riyad Attari, the Minister of Social Development, Ahmad Majdalani, the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs in the Palestinian Territories, Lynn Hastings, the Regional Director and Representative of Global Communities in Palestine, Lana Abu Hijleh, the Regional Director and Representative of the World Food Program in Palestine, participated in the launch of the activities of the Farmers’ Market. Samer Abdel Jaber, and the General Manager of "Pal Pay" Muawiya Al-Qawasmi.

The market aims to expand the horizons of farmers to market and promote their products, help them create new selling points, network them with relevant institutions and individuals, in addition to enhancing their capabilities to continue the production process, to ensure their presence in the local market for a longer period and in a sustainable manner to support their families. The market included a variety of agricultural food commodities, such as organic foods, honey, agricultural products, recycled products, and other household products produced by women and owners of agricultural projects.

During his speech, Al-Jaber said, "Our mission in the World Food Program is to save lives and change lives, so we work with a number of partners to support food systems, and ensure that they reach marginalized groups to face climate shocks," adding that farming from the land is the first step in the food journey, and we are here Today to celebrate the achievements of Palestinian farmers, and discuss the challenges they face so that we can come up with scalable solutions and enable them to reach self-sufficiency and enter the labor markets.”

On the sidelines of the launch of the market activities, a panel discussion was held under the title "Adaptation and Innovation - Empowering the Economy through Climate-Smart Agriculture in Palestine", during which the participants discussed the effects of climate change on food security, the role of digital solutions in this field, and the challenges facing farmers, in addition to Highlighting the successful initiatives and programs in Palestine that contributed to achieving sustainable food production.

The World Food Program, in partnership with Bank of Palestine and Palpay, reaches about 350,000 of the poorest Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip through electronic vouchers that enable them to buy foodstuffs from local stores, noting that this partnership is a vivid example of the use of digital solutions To improve food security and boost the local economy.

Al-Qawasmi stressed that the contribution of Bank of Palestine and Pal Pay to support the farmers’ market comes in the context of our keenness as part of the Bank of Palestine Group, and our commitment to support and encourage our farmers to promote their products, to contribute to the advancement of the agricultural sector, and to strengthen the capabilities of our economy and society to face obstacles and challenges.

Al-Qawasmi added that Bank of Palestine and “Pal Pay” company worked on all their capabilities, resources and efforts to support economic activities in the various governorates of the country, with the aim of effectively contributing to achieving sustainable development at various levels, including agriculture, and supporting “women and entrepreneurs” to develop and build their capacities, and support them. In the search for networking and financing opportunities, through the development and design of modern digital services that meet the needs of customers, and the creation of new horizons on banking transactions in order to spread the culture of their use on a large scale in Palestine.

Al-Qawasmeh indicated that among the services provided by PalPay, it allows subscribers to pay bills through banking applications, as well as through the electronic wallet application "PalPay My Wallet", which all citizens can download on smart phones, and use it to pay and charge all services without the need For a bank account, in addition to providing electronic solutions using an innovative and highly flexible electronic payment system, which enables relief organizations such as the World Food Program to monitor aid disbursement operations to beneficiaries immediately, and with full transparency.