Gaza conflict severely damages agriculture, FAO says people's livelihoods affected
China News Service, August 15 (Xinhua) - According to the United Nations website, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on August 14 that the conflict in the Gaza Strip has not only caused direct losses to local agriculture, livestock and fishery production, but will also have a long-term impact on the livelihoods of the people in Gaza. The FAO stated that in the long term, restoring agriculture in the Gaza Strip will require considerable external assistance.
The FAO pointed out in a news bulletin that since the latest round of the Gaza conflict broke out, 17,000 hectares of food crops have been destroyed, losses of broiler chickens and poultry eggs are about 50%, 64,000 small ruminants need feed and water, and fishery production has dropped to only 9.3% of the level in the same period last year. In addition, agricultural infrastructure including greenhouses, irrigation systems, breeding farms, stored feed and fishing boats has also been severely damaged.
At present, food prices in the Gaza Strip have risen sharply compared with before the conflict broke out. For example, egg prices have increased by 40%, potato prices by 42%, and tomato prices have risen by 179%.
With local agricultural production at a standstill and the quantity of imported food reduced, the 1.8 million people in the Gaza Strip are basically all surviving on food assistance provided by humanitarian relief agencies. The population receiving food assistance from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is 1.1 million, while another 700,000 rely on external food supplies distributed by the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs and its partners to get by.
The FAO stated that although most of Gaza's food relies on imports, about 29,000 people locally still depend on agriculture, livestock and fisheries for their livelihoods. During the recently reached short-term ceasefire, many farmers and herders were able to return to the fields and pastures to cultivate and graze. Once the Israeli and Palestinian sides reach a lasting ceasefire, the FAO will, with funding from Canada, provide feed for 55,000 local small ruminants. In addition, the FAO has already prepositioned 4,000 water tanks of 1 cubic meter to help Gaza herders provide drinking water for livestock.