Actions to promote a sustainable food system

Context

64.4% of the population of Gaza was in a situation of food insecurity in 2022. This is mainly due to low incomes, with 36% of the Palestinian population living below the poverty line. There are also a number of factors threatening the agricultural and food system. The lack of water is a major challenge: according to the Palestinian Water Authority, 96.2% of the water extracted from the Gaza Strip aquifer is unfit for human consumption according to WHO standards. In addition, the high salinity of the water available in the Gaza Strip aquifer limits its use. At the same time, there is less and less arable land, and farmers are using numerous chemical inputs and pesticides that are polluting the water and impoverishing the soil.

Local produce (mainly fish, fruit and vegetables) is often exported. Indeed, exporting production is financially more advantageous for the producer than selling it on the local market at a low price. The government does not believe it has enough resources to help farmers through subsidies to be able to sell their produce on the local market. As a result, local produce is either too expensive or sold for export. This phenomenon fails to facilitate the population's economic access to fresh produce and boost the local economy. In addition, inflation and rising prices for imported foodstuffs are also threatening the food security of the population of Gaza.

A number of measures need to be put in place to control land use and limit the use of pesticides by farmers, save water, treat wastewater, provide solutions and support producers in growing more suitable crops…

The municipality of Gaza has skills and has put in place a number of initiatives to improve the agricultural system and the health and nutritional security of the population.

The project

The municipality of Gaza provides a number of services to the Gazan population: hygiene, sanitation, catering, the economy, infrastructure, culture, etc. It faces a number of challenges in sustainably improving the agricultural system and strengthening the population's health security:

• Access to land: most agricultural areas are located in a buffer zone between Gaza and Israel. Most emergencies, etc. do not allow PPL to enter these areas.
• Farming practices with a negative environmental impact: there is a need to build farmers' capacity, without damaging the land and preserving resources.
• Provide funding for farmers to support sustainable agricultural production and supply the local market.
• The need for policies and regulations to ensure that arable land does not diminish over the next 20 years.
• Building regulations on the abuse of natural resources by farmers.
• The threat of water salinity and water shortage: water from the sea goes into the aquifer, which is becoming increasingly salty.
• To compensate for rising costs and shrinking land, they rely on overproduction, which leads to land degradation.

Initiatives put in place by the community :

• The municipality wants to be stricter and to better control the use of fertilisers and pesticides (quality and quantity of inputs used) (95% of these are imported from outside);
• It helps farmers to use inputs correctly (quantity, time, etc.) in order to avoid violations (most of which go undetected);
• It helps farmers to adapt their production by recommending new varieties that are more resilient and more suited to climatic and environmental conditions. For example, choosing new varieties of olive trees that are more resistant to salt water and disease.
• There is also an initiative to recycle household solid waste for use as organic fertiliser. Households are invited to compost their organic waste to make natural fertiliser.
• The municipality organises campaigns to raise awareness of the importance of taking care of the land, supporting small and medium-sized farming businesses and explaining to them how to do so.
• The municipality also supports urban agriculture: in response to the impact of Covid 19, rooftops have been planted so that crops can be grown above houses.
• The municipality is a member of the City Food System Actor Network (CFSAN), set up and run by the Gaza Urban and Peri-urban Platform (GUPAP). The CFSAN brings together a network of players dedicated to the food system. It is also the first place where local food system stakeholders can come to meet and reflect on the situation to see how they can influence policies and increase food resilience. In this way, decision-makers and farmers come together to co-construct action plans to contribute to the resilience of the local food system. The municipality of Gaza is working to regulate the pollution of natural resources and limit the negative impact on agricultural production.
• Finally, the municipality has also developed a programme with the private sector to improve support for small producers and promote the market to compete locally with exported products.

Who is it for ?

The municipality's programmes to improve the food system are committed to improving the conditions of farmers in the Gaza Strip and the living conditions of the Gazan population.

Results

The results are not necessarily communicated. However, the municipality of Gaza has had responsibility for agriculture in its municipal programme since 2018. It is also playing an increasingly important role in the development of the agricultural sector, starting with the overlap of services with Gaza: solid waste management, increasing the efficiency of water use, etc.

The municipality is also responsible for the central markets. It could therefore be worthwhile expanding the municipality's market, in particular to promote local farmers.

Little Extra

On an international level, the municipality of Gaza has signed a town-twinning agreement with 2 other cities: a city in Romania (through a project on public green spaces and urban farms) and a town-twinning agreement with the city of Valencia (Spain) to learn and exchange techniques for recovering rainwater so that it can be used for agriculture.

This initiative sheet was written by Nadja Camille, LFC project manager in March 2023.

Last modification : 15 Jun 2023.