The Food and Agriculture Organization has expanded its conditional cash assistance programme in the Gaza Strip to support an additional 1,000 farmers, aiming to revive local crop production and strengthen food security amid ongoing constraints on agricultural inputs.
Through this initiative, FAO estimates that the supported farmers could produce around 5,000 metric tonnes of vegetables—enough to feed approximately 95,000 people for one year. However, the organization notes that this output remains far below potential due to restrictions on the import of essential farming inputs and equipment.
If import barriers were lifted, FAO projects that the same group of farmers could produce up to 12,800 metric tonnes of vegetables, sufficient to feed about 165,000 people annually—around 8% of the population. To achieve this, FAO is calling for the liberalization of private sector imports of agricultural inputs, beginning with non-dual-use items, and eventually including equipment necessary for rebuilding farms and agrifood systems.
Ciro Fiorillo emphasized that high local input costs and limited availability are major obstacles to recovery. He urged authorities to allow licensed local importers to bring in essential supplies, noting that full access to inputs would enable farmers, fishers, and herders to play a central role in rebuilding the region’s food systems.
According to a joint assessment by FAO and the United Nations Satellite Centre, only 37% of cropland in Gaza is currently accessible for rehabilitation and cultivation. This includes around 6,000 dunums of undamaged land that could be used for food production if farmers had adequate resources.
Despite these challenges, FAO’s pilot programme has shown promising results. With funding from the occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund, 200 farmers in Khan Yunis and Deir al-Balah were able to produce 533 tonnes of vegetables within six months. Building on this success, the expanded programme—supported by international partners including Belgium and France—aims to improve food security, nutrition, and livelihoods while preventing a return to famine-like conditions.
FAO highlighted that while cash assistance helps farmers manage limited production, sustainable recovery depends on consistent and timely access to a full range of agricultural inputs. The organization stressed that enabling private sector imports is critical to scaling up production and supporting long-term resilience in Gaza’s agrifood sector.
