Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are attempting to revive local food production amid vast agricultural devastation, though severe constraints on land, inputs, and labor threaten their efforts.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that approximately 86% of agricultural land in Gaza has been severely damaged. Key infrastructure, including greenhouses, wells, irrigation systems, orchards, and fields, has been destroyed, rendering much of the territory’s farming capacity non-functional.
Farmer Ahmed al-Astal noted that while Gaza’s eastern regions once formed a productive agricultural belt, cultivation is now largely restricted to limited areas in Muwasi and parts of Deir al-Balah. “You’re talking about 2 million Gazans as opposed to 10% of agriculture after it was 100%,” he said. He highlighted a critical shortage of seeds and fertilizers, a stark contrast to the territory’s previous agricultural surplus.
The scarcity of farming supplies is compounded by the widespread use of agricultural areas as displacement shelters. Additionally, much farmland remains under Israeli control or is inaccessible due to security restrictions. Repeated forced evacuations have further disrupted planting and harvesting cycles, with some displaced residents returning to find their crops ruined.
Farmer Ibrahim Abu Shehab described how input shortages complicate cultivation and contribute to rising food prices. The market impact is directly felt by consumers. Asrar Qadih, a displaced woman from east Khan Younis, illustrated the change: “Vegetables are expensive today. We used to buy two or three kilos. Now, we only buy one or two pieces.”
These combined factors—infrastructure loss, restricted land access, input shortages, and population displacement—have significantly reduced Gaza’s capacity to feed itself. The limited agricultural activity now operational falls far short of meeting the basic food needs of the enclave’s two million residents, deepening reliance on external aid and market supplies that are themselves strained.
