Agricultural lands in Gaza have been damaged by bombardments from Israel, leaving the resident in a difficult position where food security and employment becomes a challenge.
Agricultural land accounts for approximately 41 per cent of Gaza’s total area which is a relatively small region but of significant strategic importance to the local economy. The people of Gaza depend on these lands for essential food production, including vegetables and fruits, with some agricultural goods also exported to regional markets, generating additional income for farmers and supporting economic stability.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the ceasefire offers a vital opportunity to tackle the catastrophic food crisis by “enabling the delivery of emergency aid and initiating early recovery efforts.” The organisation highlighted that over two million people are in urgent need of assistance due to the collapse of agricultural production.
FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol said Complementary measures to enhance resilience serve as a bridge between short-term activities and long-term development interventions, helping communities rebuild, recover from crises, restore hope, and uphold the right to food.
Speaking about the dire situation, Hassan Al-Arjan who is a farmer from Rafah, lamented about the complete destruction of agriculture. Adding that their crops were incredibly costly to cultivate, yet they supplied the market with vegetables, assisting displaced people who depended on them before the tanks and bulldozers arrived and razed all the farmland.
Other farmers have decried the devastation which destroyed the farmland which they owned leaving them with nothing to go back to After the ceasefire was initiated.
