Cultivable land in the West Bank remains significantly underutilized with low planting density, particularly in olive orchards. By adopting intercropping practices, farming families can make more efficient use of their land by simultaneously planting cereals, animal fodder and other legumes. However, farmers in the West Bank face significant feasibility, financial and safety risks associated with planting amid the ongoing conflict, including settler violence, tightening movement restrictions and, increasingly, the loss of access to land in addition to other spillover effects from the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip.

With financial support from the Government of Canada between 2023 and 2025, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) transferred USD 1.94 million in conditional cash assistance to 2 692 farming families to incentivize the adoption of intercropping practices, while lowering the financial risks associated with cultivating land amid the emergency context, helping to cover the inflated costs of agricultural inputs, and mitigating potential losses in the event of crop damage or destruction. In parallel, FAO complemented risk-minimizing conditional cash assistance with technical support through Farmer Field Schools (FFS) to encourage wider adoption.

With generous support from the Government of Denmark, FAO is currently scaling up this initiative and supporting at least 1 550 youth-led farming families with conditional cash assistance to encourage sustainable cultivation through practices such as intercropping.