Nuseirat, Gaza Strip – Mohammad al-Halabi, 50, bends over tomato and eggplant seedlings in a 300-square-metre plot in the middle of central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp, inspecting the leaves, watering the plants and monitoring their growth. The small plot he is tending is an attempt to reclaim his old profession as a farmer with his father, Marwan, on their land in northern Gaza’s Jabalia. Al-Halabi once owned a much bigger plot of farmland – around 40,000 square metres (about 10 acres) – in northern Gaza, where he grew strawberries, tomatoes, flowers, potatoes and eggplants.
His four children – Mahmoud, 30, Reham, 27, Issa, 24, and Omar, 20 – also worked with him and relied on farming as a source of income for the family. Al-Halabi’s land there is now covered with rubble and remnants of war, including what he described as remnants of missiles and other weapons. He believes it will require extensive rehabilitation work before it can be farmed again.
So, for now, al-Halabi’s focus is on his small plot in Nuseirat, which he began renting at the start of the war, after his displacement. He began growing whatever he could obtain. I found a small piece of land and planted whatever I could get.” The plot produces only a few kilogrammes of each crop he grows, barely enough for his family, and is too small to generate enough produce for sale.
More than 87 percent of Gaza’s agricultural land has been destroyed. About 8,700 agricultural wells have also been destroyed and put out of service, while 7,748 cattle, sheep and poultry farms have been destroyed. More than 87 percent of greenhouses have also been damaged.
Annual vegetable and fruit production has fallen from about 524,000 tonnes to approximately 20,000. Naser Deeb, director-general of the Agricultural Extension at Gaza’s Ministry of Agriculture, says the damage extends beyond crops to farmland, water sources, irrigation networks, wells and agricultural facilities. Deeb says he has visited and assessed several damaged agricultural sites across Gaza, though he did not inspect al-Halabi’s land.
Deeb said damaged farmland would need extensive rehabilitation before production could resume. The soil needs to be rehabilitated, water sources and irrigation systems repaired, and seeds, fertilisers and equipment provided.” And the impact of these issues, Deeb says, is affecting farming families and markets across Gaza, reducing the availability of fresh vegetables and making it harder for farmers to restore their livelihoods. Some farmers are trying to rebuild through small-scale projects.
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