Small-scale projects offer hope for Gaza farmers rebuilding lives

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that some farmers in Gaza are trying to rebuild their livelihoods through small rented plots and greenhouse projects after widespread destruction to farmland during the war. The article focuses on Mohammad al-Halabi, who is working a 300-square-metre plot in Nuseirat refugee camp after losing a much larger farm in northern Gaza’s Jabalia, and Mohammad Abdul Naser Hassan al-Jadba, who opened a nursery and greenhouse in Deir el-Balah after his own land became inaccessible near the area known as the “Yellow Line.”

According to the report, al-Halabi says his former land was bulldozed in February 2024 and now lies covered in rubble, making rehabilitation necessary before farming can resume there. He is growing tomatoes, eggplants and other crops on the smaller plot to keep his family fed, though the harvest is too limited to create a stable income. Al-Jadba, by contrast, says support from a Belgian development fund helped him set up his greenhouse, allowing him to earn money again and employ two other farmers.

The story places these efforts against broader damage to Gaza’s agricultural sector. It cites Gaza government data saying most agricultural land, wells, greenhouses and livestock farms have been destroyed or damaged, sharply reducing vegetable and fruit output. A Gaza Agriculture Ministry official says recovery will require repaired irrigation, seeds, equipment and soil rehabilitation. The report suggests that while these projects are modest, they offer one of the few paths for farming families to regain work and some measure of self-reliance.