With 27 percent arable land and no permanent crops, the West Bank and Gaza suffer from periodic food insecurity. Using proceeds derived from the monetization of commodity donated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, ACDI/VOCA funds drought relief and agricultural training activities for Palestinian farmers and pastoralists.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the SL concept and approach to poverty reduction. It was commissioned by Sida to facilitate a discussion of the applicability of the approach within Swedish development co-operation. The paper begins by outlining some of the conceptual issues of the SL concept, followed by a summary of how the concept has been put to practical use by some leading international development agencies. The final section is a critical discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the SL approach which
identifies some major issues for further discussion within Sida.