Agricultural Advisory Bodies in Palestine before 1948 (Nakba), British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume I - Page 387. Chapter IX: Agriculture: Section 8

CHAPTER IX.

Section 8.

AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY BODIES .

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193. A General Agricultural Council was established in 1031 together with a number of committees to deal with specified subjects. At the outbreak of war in 1939 the membership of the Council included 6 Arabs, 6 Jews, German,Italian,1 Englishman and 3 Government officials. The Director of Agriculture and Fisheries was Chairman, and his personal assistant was Secretary. The committees of the Council, of which there were nine, dealt with horticulture, plant protection, agricultural economics and marketing, agricultural chemistry, citriculture, animal husbandry, agronomy, irrigation and agricultural education. There was an average of thirteen members on each committee but the chairmen of the committees were not members of the Council and only in one case bad a member a seat on both the Council and a committee.

194. The functions of the Council as originally laid down were to be "the formulation of a comprehensive programme of agricultural research and education designed to secure the fullest co-ordination of effort and resources on the part of official and non-official interests, and to consider any questions affecting the agricultural community".

195. The constitution of the Council and its standing rules were reviewed in 1941 and it was agreed that, in view of the inactivity of the committees, with the exception of the citrus fruit and the marketing committees, the Council should be re-constituted. This was• finally accepted and the Council was re-constituted in 1041 with three ex-official members and 12 non-official members. The system of permanent committees was abolished and the Council was given authority to appoint ad hoc committees from a panel of selected persons who were experts in the various branches of agriculture, under the chairmanship of a member of the Council, to deal with matters referred to it by the Council.

196. The functions of the Council in accordance with its terms of reference were revised as follows :-

“It shall be the function and duty of the Council to act in an advisory and consultative capacity to Government in matters appertaining to agriculture in all its aspects arid to examine end report upon all hills referred to it by Government prior to their being referred to the Advisory Council; and to recommend to Government the enactment of legislation specifically affecting agriculture".

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