How Small-Scale Farming Projects Are Bringing Hope to Displaced Gaza Farmers

Many farmers in Gaza have set up new plots after losing their farms to Israeli attacks, according to Eman Abu Zayed and Al Jazeera. In the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, 50-year-old Mohammad al-Halabi bends over tomato and eggplant seedlings in a 300-square-metre plot, 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, or 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. “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.”

Al-Halabi says his entire farmland was bulldozed in February 2024 by Israeli forces as part of their general destruction of Jabalia. His 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. Consequently, al-Halabi’s current 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.

“Agriculture is my profession,” al-Halabi 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 kilogrammes of each crop he grows, barely enough for his family, and is too small to generate enough 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, illustrated by Eman Abu Zayed, highlights the severe 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 and put out of service, while 7,748 cattle, sheep, and poultry farms have been ruined. More than 87 percent of greenhouses have also been damaged, and 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 notes that damaged farmland will need extensive rehabilitation before production can resume. “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, fertilisers and equipment provided.” These issues affect farming families and markets across Gaza, reducing the availability of fresh vegetables and making it harder for farmers to restore their livelihoods.

Despite these immense challenges, 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 during the war after his farmland ended up behind the “Yellow Line,” the boundary in Gaza behind which Israeli forces operate and control. Israeli soldiers have killed Palestinians who have strayed too close to the line, and al-Jadba knows it is too dangerous to access his farmland. Instead, he resigned himself to renting a small plot in Deir el-Balah, where he has 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 agricultural 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 been able to employ two previously unemployed farmers on a permanent basis inside the greenhouse. “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.”