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The olive industry in the Gaza Strip is confronting a monumental crisis this season as war-related destruction and severe access restrictions trigger a collapse in production. Gaza's ministry of agriculture reported that the ongoing conflict has inflicted more than $3 billion in agricultural losses, leaving many families unable to secure their traditional annual supplies of olives and olive oil.
On July 13, the ministry estimated the sector's total losses since October 2023 at $3.08 billion, comprising $1.49 billion in direct damages and $1.59 billion in indirect losses. Even on accessible lands, farmers struggle with acute shortages of fertilizers, irrigation water, and essential supplies, exacerbated by soaring costs for labor, transport, and processing.
Kamel Baraka, a farmer from Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, noted that olive tree yields have plummeted. 'A tree that produced around 100 kilograms of olives before the war now produces no more than 20 to 30 kilograms,' Baraka told Anadolu, marking a decline of approximately 70% to 80%.
Baraka emphasized that a season which once served as a vital economic pillar for farmers, traders, and laborers now barely meets household needs. He explained that vast groves in eastern central Gaza remain inaccessible, particularly those east of Salah al-Din Street and near the so-called 'yellow line.'
This 'yellow line' serves as a boundary separating eastern areas under military control from western zones where movement is permitted. Farmers in Deir al-Balah, Bureij, and Maghazi report that the remaining accessible land is insufficient to meet the local demand for olive oil. Historically, harvest preparations began a month in advance, but these activities have dwindled as production falls and logistics become prohibitively expensive.
Furthermore, the cost of pressing olives has tripled compared to pre-war levels. 'Before the war, press owners often transported harvests, but now farmers struggle to find transport even for small quantities,' Baraka added. The shortage of storage containers and the high cost of fuel for water pumps have made preserving the harvest increasingly difficult for families dependent on farming for food security.
According to the agriculture ministry, approximately 158,909 dunams (39,267 acres) of agricultural land have been damaged out of a total 182,247 dunams—nearly 87% of Gaza's farming territory. This massive destruction has crippled crop production capacity across the besieged enclave, where official figures report over 74,000 fatalities and 175,000 injuries, alongside the destruction of 90% of the infrastructure.
Source: TRT World