Rebuilding the agricultural sector in Gaza: a long journey towards recovery and restoring hope

Agricultural lands constitute about 41% of the total area of ​​Gaza – a relatively small space, but it is of strategic importance for the local economy. Gaza residents depend on these lands to produce basic food, such as vegetables and fruits, and some agricultural products are exported to regional markets, which provides additional income for farmers and supports the local economy.

Our correspondent in Gaza met two farmers in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where they shed light on the destruction of their farms.

“They washed the ground and left nothing.”

The farmer, Hassan Al -Arjan, described the destruction of his farm during the 15 -month war, and he said:

“They destroyed agriculture. These crops, as you see, are expensive. We were covering the market with vegetables like tomatoes and cucumber. But suddenly, they came and destroyed everything. As you can see, tanks and bulldozers came and destroyed all agricultural lands. What damage caused by these crops, such as Tomatoes and palm trees?

Al -Arjan continued, saying: “They uprooted the water and trees, and washed the ground, the plastic houses, and the streets, and they left nothing. We could not even flee because they set everything on the ground. They want to kill us. As you can see, we are civilians who have nothing to do with anything. “

As for the farmer, Ghaleb Abu Mohsen, he said: “I have ten dunums from the ground, it was planted with cucumbers and tomatoes, and now as you can see, all ten dunums have disappeared due to bulldozing, we used to reap tomatoes, cucumber and watermelon, and now nothing remains. My family is consisting of ten individuals, and now we have nothing left.”

The shooting is a decisive opportunity

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the ceasefire represents a decisive opportunity to address the catastrophic food crisis by enabling the delivery of emergency aid and starting early recovery efforts. The organization pointed out that more than two million people are in urgent need of help due to the collapse of agricultural production.

This is “Just the beginning of a long journey to recover from the destruction,” Adding that sustainable peace and arrival will be necessary to meet the enormous needs And ensuring that no person in Gaza is left behind the knees.

Support the right to food

Bexdol affirmed the FAO commitment to ensuring food security in the sector in the long term, adding that the organization’s efforts to recover will give priority at the present time to rebuild the food infrastructure, such as glass homes, wells, solar energy systems, and expand the scope of delivery of vital agricultural inputs to restore local food production.

The UN official continued, saying: These complementary measures to enhance the ability to withstand a bridge between short -term activities and long -term development interventions to help societies to reconstruct and recover from crises, restore hope and support the right to food. “

Bexdol stressed the need for agriculture to be at the heart of emergency efforts and recovery, stressing that Immediate work should combine emergency relief – food, water and medical assistance – and restore local food production.