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Said has been unable to cultivate his land of two dunums (2,000 m2), East of Gaza City, since the end of the Israeli military bombardment of Gaza in 2014. The land was badly affected and Said lost his only source of income. The level of destruction and loss of resources rendered him unable to replant his land or to pay his debts. He found temporary work with other farmers on their lands to cover some of the daily costs of his family of seven.
Said explained:
“I have been working in agriculture for more than 20 years, and I planted this land with my father who left it to me when he passed away, I never imagined that I would lose everything including my livelihood. Everything was destroyed in 2014 and I could not replant it again. I have been working for local farmers and receiving some financial support from a humanitarian organisation. These last few years were miserable.”
He added:
“I lived the worst years of my life. I was dependant on others, and this opportunity to rehabilitate and replant my land was a dream of mine.”
The Emergency Support to Gaza farmers’ project gave Said hope that he could return to working his land. Said’s land was cleared, ploughed, re-planted, and irrigated with the installation of irrigation networks.
Said added:
“I’m back on my land now. I feel my land has returned, as beautiful as it was before, I got my life back. I received all of the agricultural inputs I needed through this project. I expect to have some savings when I harvest and sell my crops, as this season has been good. I look forward to replanting the land next season. Thank you for your support.”
This project enabled 66 farmers to rehabilitate 132 dunums of destroyed land, restoring the land’s productivity and the farmers livelihoods, as well as producing crops for the local markets.
*Names have been changed
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