- Title: US aid agency helps Gazan farmers develop their business
- Date: 17th May 2016
- Summary: VARIOUS OF VEGETABLES ON DISPLAY ON TABLE
- Embargoed: 1st June 2016 10:19
- Keywords: Palestinians Gaza USAID farmers employment aid
- Location: JERUSALEM AND DEIR AL-BALAH, GAZA
- City: JERUSALEM AND DEIR AL-BALAH, GAZA
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0054I71NIT
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) launched a new initiative to support Gaza's agricultural sector.
The scheme 'Envision Gaza 2020' will provide humanitarian assistance to farmers, as well as increase job opportunities and training and help with marketing and distributing food produce.
The U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem, Donald A. Blome, announced the scheme at the 'Grown in Gaza' event, which brought together farmers and local policy-makers to highlight Gaza's farming industry.
Fruits and vegetables from Gaza were on display at the event, as well as dishes prepared using traditional Palestinian recipes.
At the event, Blome said the USAID were investing $50 million USD in 'Envision Gaza 2020'.
"This programme will provide urgent humanitarian support, job creation and capacity building, markedly expanding our Gaza assistance efforts. In Gaza we need to offer a better vision for the future and this programme aims to do that," he said.
The project will be implemented in partnership with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and, as well as increasing job opportunities, will help in distributing Gaza's food produce.
One of the farmers who came from Gaza to attend the event, Abdulraouf abu Safar, said that farmers like him suffer from not being able to export much of their produce.
"As farmers, we suffer from lack of exports, to open lines to international markets. This is the most important thing for farmers to become productive and agricultural products to be exported," he said.
Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on Gaza, with Israel restricting the passage of goods into the Gaza Strip since 2007 when it was taken over by Islamist group Hamas.
Israel says its blockade prevents the movement of militants and stops construction materials that could be used by Hamas to make bunkers and tunnels.
Palestinians there say they are under siege and are unable to rebuild homes destroyed by Israeli bombing.
The USAID West Bank and Gaza Mission Director, Dave Harden, said that farmers in Gaza need to be able to sell their products internationally.
"I think the main thing that the farmers need is predictability, they need to know that items will be able to come in, items will be able to go out, that they will have a value chain, that they would be able to sell to markets wherever those markets may be, whether they're in Jordan or Ramallah or London or Tel Aviv," Harden said.
Jamal Sobouh, a chef from Gaza, was on hand to prepare traditional food at the 'Grown in Gaza' event in Jerusalem, with ingredients that he had brought with him.
"We have a Palestinian product in the Gaza Strip and we are honoured to export our product from Gaza to the world's countries and Israel is part of these countries," he said.
In Deir al-Balah, farmers were collecting and boxing tomatoes for export to Saudi Arabia.
Abu Safar, who owns the farm, said that exporting produce outside the Strip is very costly for farmers.
"We have problems with exporting, we move products from one car to another car to another car, this all costs the farmer," he said.
A devastating 2014 war between Palestinian militants and Israel, the border restrictions imposed by Israel and Egypt and the destruction of cross-border smuggling tunnels by an Egyptian government at odds with Gaza's Hamas rulers have contributed to economic hardship in the territory. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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