TİKA Supported Agricultural Development In The Gaza Strip

10 fully equipped tractors and 2 field vehicles were handed over to the Gaza Ministry of Agriculture authorities by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency Directorate within the scope of providing support for agricultural development in the Gaza Strip.

This project was realized under the cooperation of TİKA and the Gaza Ministry of Agriculture in response to the request made by the Ministry to help reduce problems being experienced in the field of agriculture in the Gaza Strip and to support agricultural development, to train farmers in Gaza and to supervise agricultural zones. Two 4X4 field vehicles, 10 tractors with 5-raked ploughs, 9-geared ploughs, 5- raked and 2-geared ploughs, 2 basin-digging machines, 2 harvesting-threshing machines and 5 cultivators were supplied by TİKA within the scope of the project. The supplied vehicles and equipment were presented to the authorities in a ceremony. The Gaza Minister of Agriculture Ali A. Tarshawi, Gaza Minster of Agricultural Planning and Policies General Manager Dr. Nabil Abu Shammala, TİKA and Ministry of Health authorities, mayors from the Gaza area and farmers attended the ceremony.

The provision of 10 tractors and equipment by TİKA within the scope of the project aims to increase farming and productivity in Gaza and contribute towards the improvement of food safety. The total cultivatable farming area in the Gaza Strip is 120 thousand decares. A 40-thousand-decare portion of the said land consists of greenhouses and 80 thousand is open farming land. With this project a 30-thousand-decare portion of the 120 thousand decares of fertile land located on the Israeli border of the Gaza Strip, which is not currently being used, will be made available for farming.

The two field vehicles that have been donated will enable relations between the Ministry of Agriculture officials and the Gaza farmers to be better developed and it will become possible to give various kinds of training to the farmers to raise awareness and provide guidance on what kinds of products can be planted. In addition to the 10 fully equipped tractors and 2 field vehicles donated within the project, training is planned to be provided to the Palestinian farmers by the engineers and veterinarians from the Gaza Ministry of Agriculture within the scope of agricultural research and development of livestock farming. In this context agricultural consultation services have been provided directly to 3500 farmers in the Gaza strip making it possible to continuously monitor and assess the farming operations in the region.

Gaza Minister of Agriculture Tarshawi, who made a speech during the ceremony, said that there is a historical bond between the Turkish people and government and the people of Palestine which has continued over the years to our present day and which will continue to grow stronger. Gaza Minister of Agriculture Tarshawi also pointed out that recently they observed the work of an agency (TİKA), which provides true assistance on behalf of the Turkish government and that they would like to express their gratitude to the Turkish government and the people of Turkey for the genuine development-focused work being done through TİKA, the knowledge and experience being provided and the courage they were instilling with this work. Minister Tarshawi also added that the 10 tractors and 2 field vehicles which had been donated would be put to the best use to achieve sustainability and that this assistance had come from a very well-liked and respected country both in terms of its people and its government.

Gaza Minister of Agriculture Tarshawi said that thanks to the projects and activities being conducted by both the Turkish government and Turkish Non-Governmental Organizations in the Western Bank and Jerusalem in social, economic and cultural fields, the parting of ways that occurred a century ago between the two communities had come to an end and the old days had returned. Gaza Minster of Agriculture Planning and Policies General Manager Dr. Nabil Abu Shammala also pointed out that this project is very important and extremely beneficial for the agriculture sector in Gaza and thanked Turkey for its support. TİKA, which has realized development and cooperation projects in over 100 countries with this project, has now added a new project to reinforce the ties of brotherhood between the Palestinian people and Turkey.