In the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, 50-year-old Mohammad al-Halabi bends over tomato and eggplant seedlings in a 300-square-meter plot, inspecting leaves, watering plants, and monitoring their growth. This small plot is an attempt to reclaim his old profession as a farmer, which he practiced with his father on their land in northern Gaza's Jabalia.

Al-Halabi once owned a much larger farmland of about 40,000 square meters (approximately 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.

"I have been working in agriculture since I was a child," al-Halabi said. "The land is my life, and I have spent my whole life farming it." He says his entire farmland was bulldozed in February 2024 by Israeli forces as part of their general destruction of Jabalia. The land is now covered with rubble and remnants of war, including what he described as missile remnants.

Al-Halabi believes it will require extensive rehabilitation before it can be farmed again. For now, he focuses on his small plot in Nuseirat, which he began renting at the start of the war after his displacement. "Agriculture is my profession," he said. "Even after being displaced, I couldn't leave it. I found a small piece of land and planted whatever I could get."

The plot produces only a few kilograms of each crop, barely enough for his family, and too small to generate produce for sale. "When I see the plant growing and producing a fruit, I feel that I can still farm," al-Halabi said. "The land is small, but it has potential, and hopefully it will produce a crop."

Data from Gaza's Government Media Office illustrates the scale of damage to the agricultural sector. More than 87 percent of Gaza's agricultural land has been destroyed. About 8,700 agricultural wells have been destroyed, while 7,748 cattle, sheep, and poultry farms have been destroyed. More than 87 percent of greenhouses have 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. "Farmers today are facing several problems at the same time," Deeb says. "Even if a farmer returns to his land, that does not mean the land is ready for cultivation. The soil needs to be rehabilitated, water sources and irrigation systems repaired, and seeds, fertilizers, and equipment provided."

Some farmers are trying to rebuild through small-scale projects. Mohammad Abdul Naser Hassan al-Jadba, 40, from Sheikh Ajleen in Gaza City, lost his source of income after his farmland ended up on the wrong side of the "Yellow Line," the boundary behind which Israeli forces operate. He knows it is too dangerous to access his land, so he rented a small plot in Deir el-Balah, where he established a nursery and greenhouse to grow tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers.

Al-Jadba received funding from a Belgian development fund, which he used to build the greenhouse and obtain supplies. "Before renting the farm, my income was zero," al-Jadba said. "Today, I can support my family, and my monthly income has reached around 3,000 shekels [$1,015] a month." He has also employed two farmers permanently, both previously unemployed. "For me, this project was not just agricultural support," al-Jadba said. "It was a real opportunity to return to work, regain my source of income, and become self-reliant again."

Source: www.aljazeera.com