The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has secured new partnerships with Belgium and France to expand emergency agricultural assistance in the Gaza Strip, aiming to support 1,000 farming households ahead of the upcoming growing season. Through this initiative, FAO seeks to help farmers restore food production capacity and improve local access to fresh produce amid ongoing humanitarian challenges.
FAO officials stressed that Gaza’s remaining agricultural families cannot afford to lose another planting cycle or additional livestock. The new contributions are expected to play a decisive role in enabling farmers to restart production and supply vegetables to local markets, offering a vital lifeline for food security and livelihoods in the territory.
Despite the conflict, Gaza’s farmers and herders are prepared to resume agricultural activities, but require urgent assistance. An estimated 37 percent of cropland is now physically accessible for rehabilitation and cultivation, including around 600 hectares of undamaged land that can be planted immediately if farmers receive timely inputs and support.
Through the partnerships with Belgium, France and other resource partners, FAO will provide conditional cash assistance to enable farmers to purchase essential inputs such as seeds, water and organic fertilizers. The support will also help rehabilitate agricultural land and prevent farmers from missing the next growing season, which is critical for sustaining local food production.
The expanded programme builds on the success of a FAO pilot initiative launched in mid-2025, which supported 200 farmers and resulted in the production of more than 500 tonnes of fresh vegetables within six months, despite ongoing conflict. Feedback from participating farmers highlighted that cash-based assistance was essential in allowing them to resume cultivation under extremely difficult conditions.
FAO plans to increase its level of conditional cash assistance fivefold, leveraging both existing and new partnerships to strengthen early recovery efforts and improve food availability in Gaza. The organization emphasized that continued flexibility and trust from donors are key to scaling up support effectively.
These new efforts are part of FAO’s long-standing cooperation with Belgium and France in the Gaza Strip. Belgium has supported the distribution of animal fodder and veterinary supplies to thousands of herding households since 2023, while earlier collaboration with France focused on improving water efficiency and climate resilience for Gaza’s farmers, laying important groundwork for current recovery initiatives.
