In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Birzeit University launched on March 9, 2013 the project "Cultivation of Olive Trees to Support the Student Fund," which seeks to transform BZU land into a productive and income-generating project.

 

The olive tree planting campaign brought together Minister of Agriculture Walid Assaf, BZU President Khalil Hindi, Vice President for Administrative Affairs Adel Zagha​​, Vice President for Community Outreach Samia Halileh, Acting Dean of Student Affairs Mohammed Al-Ahmed, Voluntary Work Officer Ghada Al-Omari and a delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees.

President Hindi said that the objectives of this project are twofold: "To promote students’ affiliation to BZU and preserve the Palestinian identity by preserving the land and trees while providing financial revenues to the Student Fund for the purpose of student financial aid.”

Minister Assaf emphasized his ministry’s ongoing support for protecting the land and citizens’ resilience in the homeland. He also praised the project to support needy students in light of the poor economic conditions that may hinder their studies.

The project will be supervised by the Voluntary Work Section at the Deanship Office of the university. The Ministry of Agriculture will provide olive seedlings and an agricultural engineer to follow-up on the project, as well as counseling for the expansion of the project. BZU students and the Gardening Section will be in charge of olive tree planting and pruning.Alpha