Director of Policies and Planning at the Ministry of Agriculture in Gaza, Bahaa Al-Agha:

▪ The war on the Gaza Strip has caused destruction across various aspects of life and economic sectors, especially the agricultural sector, which has been almost completely destroyed.

▪ About 87.6% of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip has been completely damaged, with extensive damage to soil, water wells, irrigation networks, and transmission lines.

▪ Different agricultural sectors, including livestock production and fish production, have suffered damage ranging between 85% and 90%.

▪ A report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) stated that only about 3% of open agricultural land can be safely accessed and is undamaged, with an area of approximately 4,480 dunams.

▪ About 2,240 dunams of agricultural greenhouses can be safely accessed, representing nearly 16% of the total greenhouses.

▪ In general, the area of open agricultural land and greenhouses that can be safely accessed and cultivated does not exceed 4% of the total agricultural land in the Strip.

▪ More than 70% of agricultural land has become located within the areas controlled by the occupation, in what is known as the "yellow line".

▪ The occupation imposes a strict siege on agricultural production inputs and does not allow the entry of fertilizers, seeds, seedlings, and pesticides, which hinders the resumption of agricultural production in the Gaza Strip.

▪ The shortage of production inputs has led to rising prices of agricultural products, which have become highly dependent on imported materials and products, making them out of reach for a large segment of citizens.

▪ The autumn agricultural season is currently one of the most important seasons in the Gaza Strip because it depends on the rainy season, but the cultivated areas in it have not yet become clear.

▪ The previous season saw a cultivated area of only about 3,100 dunams despite the great need for agricultural production.

▪ Farmers are also facing the spread of agricultural pests, including the Tuta absoluta insect, which has damaged tomato crops amid the unavailability of the pesticides needed to combat it inside the Strip.

▪ The spread of this insect has caused significant losses to farmers and their crops.

▪ The continuation of the occupation's policies threatens to completely stop the agricultural production process amid wide-scale destruction that has affected various economic and productive sectors in the Gaza Strip.