Cropping Patterns and its Determinants in the Greenhouses in the Northern Governorates of the West Bank, Palestine

Greenhouses constitute an integral part of the Palestinian agricultural structure. Nonetheless, farming multiple crops on the same farm during the same season is still hard and a risky decision that farmers seek to avoid, despite the recent tendency to attempt diversifying. The aim of this study is to identify the cropping patterns prevalent among the northern Palestinian greenhouse farmers and the diversification decision affecting factors. A survey study was conducted in the northern regions of the West Bank of Palestine. The study area included three governorates, Jenin, Tubas and Tulkarm, with a geographical coordination between 35° 13′ to 35° 16′ east longitudes and 32° 06′ to 32° 32′ north latitude. Quantitative methods depending on PCBS (Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics) issues regarding agricultural production and a questionnaire of the crops cultivated by the farmers were adopted. Data were analyzed using SPSS software package. The Herfindahl Index was used to assess diversification level. The results indicated that the diversification level was low in Jenin (0.33965) and Tubas (0.466525), but Tulkarm (0.25965) showed high diversification patterns. The crops mostly cultivated were cucumber, tomato and pepper, forming 35%, 34.88% and 9.75% of the total cultivated greenhouses in the three governorates respectively. The diversification decision was mostly influenced by the farmer's educational level, monthly income and years of experience. The fear of risk common among the farmers can be minimized by a collaboration between the agricultural associations, NGOs and ministries of agriculture and national economy to compensate farmers' loss.