Jerusalem/Cairo - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today scaled up conditional cash assistance to support reactivation of local crop production by an additional 1 000 farmers in the Gaza Strip.
With cash assistance, FAO conservatively estimates that 1 000 farmers can produce enough vegetables to produce about 5 000 metric tonnes (MT) of vegetables and feed nearly 95 000 people for one year. However, this is barely half of what these farmers can achieve amid continued blockages on imports of agricultural inputs.
If full and unrestricted entry of agricultural inputs and equipment is permitted (non-dual use and dual use), FAO estimates that the same number of farmers can produce about 12 800 MT of fresh vegetables and feed about 165 000 individuals for one year, or approximately 8 percent of the population.
"In view of currently very high local input prices, FAO calls for the full liberalization of imports of agricultural inputs by the private sector, starting with non-dual use items. Import licenses should be assigned directly to local importers and distributors that are specialized in agricultural inputs, were registered before the conflict, and are still active. Rehabilitation and reconstruction of farms and other production facilities will require liberalization of dual use equipment used by farmers, fishers, herders and agrifood professionals", said Ciro Fiorillo, Head of Office, FAO West Bank and Gaza Strip.
According to an October 2025 assessment from FAO and the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT), 37 percent of the cropland in the Gaza Strip is now physically accessible for rehabilitation and cultivation. This includes about 6 000 dunums of undamaged land that, when farmers have needed resources, can be used to reactivate food production and agricultural livelihoods.
However, farming inputs that are needed to restart production are still scarce. When inputs are permitted entry, it is often in isolation. This approach is insufficient to reactivate production at scale because multiple, complementary inputs must be available in a timely manner for each individual seed to germinate into seedings and effectively produce crops.
With agricultural inputs effectively blocked, FAO is providing conditional cash assistance to support limited production by farmers on at least 1 dunum each. A recently completed pilot, funded by the occupied Palestinian territory Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF), provided cash support to 200 farmers in Khan Yunis and Deir al-Balah. In just six months, the farmers were able to cultivate an impressive 533 tonnes of fresh vegetables. The scaleup to an additional 1 000 farmers will enhance outcomes on food security, nutrition, employment and incomes, and help stave off a return to famine-like conditions in the Strip. The scaleup is funded by Belgium, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, and other resource partners through FAO's Special Fund for Emergency and Resilience Activities (SFERA).
"Our conditional cash assistance initiative has clearly demonstrated that, when farmers have access to suitable agricultural inputs, they can grow crops. With full and unrestricted access to imported inputs from the private sector, farmers, herders and fishers can lead the agrifood sector in playing a key role in recovery and resilience building for the Gaza Strip," Fiorillo said.
