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20241009 Gaza Agriculture Damage

The latest assessment using satellite data produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) shows escalating damage to farmland and agricultural infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, further exacerbating the humanitarian and hunger crisis resulting from the ongoing conflict.

Language Arabic, English

Duration 4m46s

Edit Version International

Video Type Video News Release (VNR)

Date 10/09/2024

File size 630.48 MB

Unique ID UF17W7R

Production details and shotlist

UNFAO Source FAO Video

Shotlist STORY: FAO / GAZA AGRICULTURE DAMAGE
TRT: 4:47
SOURCE: FAO
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT FAO ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / ARABIC /NATS

DATELINE: 4-8 OCTOBER 2024, ROME / ITALY, GAZA / PALESTINE

SHOTLIST:

4 OCTOBER 2024, EL-ZETOOUN, GAZA STRIP

1. Various shots, destroyed greenhouses and infrastructure

FILE, ROME, ITALY

2. Wide shot, FAO Headquarters

8 OCTOBER 2024, ROME, ITALY

3. Wide shot, Paulsen in his office
4. Close up, over the shoulder, Paulsen looking at the assessment
5. Close up, hand on muse
6. Close up, Paulsen
7. Med shot, Paulsen looking at the assessment
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Rein Paulsen, Director of Office of Emergencies and Resilience, FAO:
“What this latest round of assessments is telling us is that, where we had a situation of, to a large extent, self-sufficiency when it came to agricultural production before the escalation in hostilities, we're seeing a continued, worsening of capabilities, capacities and substantial destruction of, the productive sector.”
9. Maps, showing agricultural infrastructure damage over the past year
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Rein Paulsen, Director of Office of Emergencies and Resilience, FAO:
“I think for the FAO, the most important message is that there are emergency agricultural interventions, short term actions that simply must be put in place now and that we as FAO can put in place and are putting in place to help, as part of the famine prevention and response efforts in the Gaza Strip.”
11. Maps, showing cropland damage over the past year
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Rein Paulsen, Director of Office of Emergencies and Resilience, FAO:
“Things like vegetables, there are short-cycle vegetables which can produce in a matter of weeks, that is going to be indispensable in the context that we're facing in Gaza. Access to milk, access to protein is an important part of famine prevention and response. Our ability to provide emergency animal feed, our ability to vaccinate and care for those, particularly those sheep and goats that are still alive, that's going to translate in the coming days to increased access to milk at the household level in a context where, the acute food insecurity numbers are dramatic.”
13. Maps showing agricultural damage in Gaza
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Rein Paulsen, Director of Office of Emergencies and Resilience, FAO:
“So, the response in terms of emergency livestock interventions is a key part in ensuring vulnerable people's right to food. And this is a key element that needs to be underscored. The right to food is a basic human right. In the context of the Gaza Strip, this means access is required, funding is required. We need to be able to, as FAO support these vulnerable families with the interventions that are based on our technical expertise and mandate. We're doing it to good effect. We can do a lot more.”

5 OCTOBER 2024, EL-ZETOOUN, GAZA STRIP

15. Various shots, Saeed feeding her animals
16. SOUNDBITE (ARABIC) Ward Saeed, livestock keeper from El-Zetoun, Palestine:
“We were displaced and moved south because of the war. We took our animals with us and lost half of them—most of them— along the way. These are the only animals left. And we are used to and depend on our sheep. They are our source of livelihood. Our lives revolve around sheep. They provide us with income and we depend on them. We feed them and take care of them.”

4 OCTOBER 2024, DEIR AL-BALAH, GAZA STRIP

17. Various shots, Hakmah tending to animals
18. SOUNDBITE (ARABIC) Hakmah El-Hamidi, farmer from Al-Zuwayidah:
“There is no food to feed them, no fodder. I mean, I tell you, we had over forty heads of livestock, and now they’re twenty, or even less, I tell you.”

4 OCTOBER 2024, EL-ZETOOUN, GAZA STRIP

19. Wide shot, Saeed with animals
20. SOUNDBITE (ARABIC) Ward Saeed, livestock keeper from El-Zetoun, Palestine:
“We benefited from FAO’s support, the fodder and the veterinary kit, but this is not enough, we need more.”
21. Tracking shot, destroyed greenhouses

Script The latest assessment using satellite data produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) shows escalating damage to farmland and agricultural infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, further exacerbating the humanitarian and hunger crisis resulting from the ongoing conflict.
As of 1 September 2024, 67.6 percent of Gaza’s cropland – or 10 183 hectares (ha) – has been damaged. This is up from 57.3 percent (8 660 ha) in May and 42.6 percent (6 694 ha) in February 2024. More specifically, 71.2 percent of orchards and other trees, 67.1 percent of field crops, and 58.5 percent of vegetables have been damaged.
The satellite images indicate that heavy vehicle tracks, razing, shelling, and other conflict-related pressures have also significantly damaged Gaza’s agricultural infrastructure, with a total of 1 188 agricultural wells (52.5 percent) and 577.9 ha of greenhouses (44.3 percent) damaged.
“What this latest round of assessments is telling us is that, where we had a situation of, to a large extent, self-sufficiency when it came to agricultural production before the escalation in hostilities, we're seeing a continued, worsening of capabilities, capacities and substantial destruction of, the productive sector,” said Rein Paulsen, FAO Director of Emergencies and Resilience.

More than 2 million Gazans are still in urgent need of food and livelihood assistance as humanitarian access remains restricted. The latest assessment, covering the period 7 October 2023 – 1 September 2024, reinforces concerns about the risk of famine.
“I think for the FAO, the most important message is that there are emergency agricultural interventions, short term actions that simply must be put in place now and that we as FAO can put in place and are putting in place to help, as part of the famine prevention and response efforts in the Gaza Strip,” said Paulsen.

Since the conflict started, FAO and UNOSAT have provided regular agricultural assessment updates, combining field and satellite data to evaluate various agricultural indicators, such as cropland area extent.
Assessment details of note:
• Khan Younis has the largest area of damaged cropland (2 589 ha or 61.5 percent), while North Gaza has the highest proportion of damage per governorate (78.2 percent).
• The Port of Gaza City has been severely damaged, with most fishing boats destroyed.
• Rafah has seen a sharp increase (183 percent) in damaged greenhouses, rising from 44 ha in April to 124.7 ha in September 2024, accounting for 27.7 percent of its total greenhouses.
• Almost 95 percent (about 15 000) of cattle have died, and nearly all calves have been slaughtered.
• Around 43 percent of sheep (less than 25 000 heads) and 37 percent of goats (about 3 000 heads) remain alive.
• Dramatic losses are reported in the poultry sector, with only 1 percent (ca. 34 000) of heads alive. Commercial poultry production has largely ceased, with most operations now limited to household-level production for self-consumption.
The conflict has removed access to critical sources of protein and nutritious foods and continues to devastate peoples’ livelihoods.
“Things like vegetables, there are short-cycle vegetables which can produce in a matter of weeks, that is going to be indispensable in the context that we're facing in Gaza. Access to milk, access to protein is an important part of famine prevention and response,” said Paulsen. “Our ability to provide emergency animal feed, our ability to vaccinate and care for those, particularly those sheep and goats that are still alive, that's going to translate in the coming days to increased access to milk at the household level in a context where, the acute food insecurity numbers are dramatic,” he said.

Agricultural aid is urgently needed to restore the availability of highly nutritious food, prevent the agricultural sector’s total collapse, preserve remaining agricultural livelihoods, and curb acute hunger and malnutrition, especially among children. Gaza’s farmers, fishers, and herders are risking their lives to continue food production. However, this is becoming increasingly difficult due to the substantial damage to infrastructures, as documented in the latest geospatial analyses.

Like other UN and humanitarian actors, FAO has experienced logistical challenges, particularly due to the restriction at crossings, caused by the collapse of law and order that constrains the delivery of agricultural aid into Gaza. As of 29 September 2024, FAO has distributed fodder to over 4 400 livestock holders in Rafah, Khan Younis, and Deir al-Balah and veterinary kits to about 2 400 herder families.

“The right to food is a basic human right. In the context of the Gaza Strip, this means access is required, funding is required. We need to be able to, as FAO support these vulnerable families with the interventions that are based on our technical expertise and mandate. We're doing it to good effect. We can do a lot more,” said Paulsen.

For the Gazan farmers like Ward Saeed who was forced to flee her home with her family and animals, the aid cannot come fast enough to save what is left of her herd of cattle.

“We benefited from FAO’s support, the fodder and the veterinary kit, but this is not enough, we need more,” Saeed said.

FAO is ready to deliver more inputs to Gazan farmers and herders once access, security and mobility conditions are fully restored.
UNOSAT is a specialized program within UNITAR, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research.

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