• Tuesday, 07-08-2018

A Unique Scientific Achievement Uses Natural Alternatives to Agricultural Chemical Pesticide

Dr. Rana Samara, the Dean of Scientific Research and High Studies at Palestine Technical University – Kadoorie has achieved unprecedented scientific research outcome by which she had identified a chemical combination of aromatic and herbal oils obtained from local Palestinian herbs as alternatives to the agricultural chemical pesticide.
This scientific research came within the framework of the fellowship program “Zamalah” – the sixth session which is basically funded by Bank of Palestine and the Arab Monetary Fund and managed by Taawon Organization.
The fellowship program aims at developing the agricultural sector in Palestine and at supporting the Palestinian farmers to search for new alternatives to the chemical insecticide and fungicide that the Palestinian famer suffers from the heavy use of these chemicals, which ultimately affect negatively the human health, environment and the wildlife.
Counting on the use of these chemicals has constituted a heavy financial burden on the farmers due to rise in their price and the export restrictions imposed by Israel as well as raising the health awareness of the consumers made it urgent to look for new alternatives that ease the work of the farmers.
It is worth mentioning here that the Palestinian research centers and universities suffer from lack of gas chromatography mass spectrometry, which are developed, modern and accurate devices that analyze and separate the chemical combination from the herbal plants meant to obtain the materialsin this study.