Gazan Seed Bank Aids Farmers Amidst Agricultural Challenges

A Gazan farmer, Rasem Fayyad, described how he borrows seeds to plant and returns a portion to a seed bank for future seasons, a system that helps farmers persist despite difficulties in obtaining agricultural supplies and rising costs. The Al-Qarara Local Seed Bank in Deir al-Balah was revived in a tent after its previous location was destroyed. Hanadi Muhanna, an agriculture specialist and board member, stated that the bank's organizers enlisted farmers who had worked with them before the war to collect, propagate, and protect seed varieties from extinction.

The discussion around food production raises the question of who decides what we eat. Professor Rami Zurayk of the American University of Beirut, in a program hosted by Fayrouz Ziani, discussed with Professor Michael Fakhri of the University of Oregon the difference between access to food and the ability to determine the food production system. Fakhri pointed out that full store shelves do not necessarily mean people can afford the food, citing over 1.5 million food-insecure individuals in New York City. He emphasized that food security means all individuals have access to sufficient, healthy food that respects their cultural traditions, a definition from the 1996 World Food Summit that includes physical and economic access, not just availability. He also noted that calorie intake alone does not guarantee proper nutrition, as the World Health Organization classifies malnutrition in various forms, including undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and obesity.

Food sovereignty shifts the focus to who makes decisions about what to plant, which production receives support, and where resources are directed, challenging the control of communities' food systems by states, corporations, and blocs. Zurayk criticized aid organizations that entered Gaza before the war, supporting flower and strawberry cultivation for export to Europe via Israel. He argued this diverted land use from local needs and linked production to off-season consumption in European markets, placing donor policies and funding at the center of agricultural decision-making, alongside border and trade restrictions.

Before the war, Gaza achieved self-sufficiency in fresh vegetables and exported some produce, according to Osama Al-Makhallati, an economic official at the International Committee of the Red Cross. However, Zurayk's debate centers on who sets priorities and the terms of market engagement. The seed bank initiative offers another perspective on how aid impacts producers' choices. Amani Al-Naqouq, a spokesperson for the ICRC, confirmed their support for the seed bank aims to propagate local varieties and prevent their extinction, encouraging farmers to dedicate land for this purpose. This project, supported by an international entity, works to keep seeds in a local production cycle. However, Al-Naqouq noted limitations, including the absence of staple crops like tomatoes and cucumbers, restricted cultivation areas, depleted soil, and import restrictions for supplies, deeming the contribution limited relative to the sector's damage and needs.

Fakhri cited farmer protests in India as an example of conflict over production and marketing rules, where government policies aligned with international financial institutions' push for deregulation, while farmers resisted to preserve their ability to continue. This led to the repeal of three agricultural laws in India in 2021. Fakhri concluded that collective organization is crucial to counter corporate influence and shape agricultural policy, giving producers a voice in rule-making. Food sovereignty does not mean isolation from trade, but rather transparent trade that ensures fair incomes and protects consumer rights, prioritizing local and national economies. On a state level, Fakhri advocates for government-wide involvement in food policy. In Gaza, Zurayk links the restoration of food sovereignty to ending the occupation and its restrictions. The seed bank organizers' efforts, while preserving some production tools, highlight the distance from restoring a comprehensive agricultural system capable of meeting needs. Fayyad, for instance, supplements his seed bank provisions by propagating seeds and making fertilizer manually, retaining some capacity to restart each season, though water, land, and freedom of access remain critical.