Second Session: Immediate Challenges in the Wake of Destruction and Volatility

Agriculture, Food Security and Basic Income - Keys to Relief and Recovery , 

This session considers the impact of the ongoing genocide in Gaza on the agricultural sector, food security and income in the oPt. Israel has been targeting and destroying food systems and devastating agricultural land in Gaza as well as in the West Bank, thus exacerbating an already dire food crisis. The ongoing destruction in Gaza not only inhibits immediate access to food, but also reduces the population’s long-term prospects for food autonomy and sustainability. As a result, food sovereignty has been severely undermined. Tackling the decline in farming and diminishing food security should integrate political-economy development principles into the relief activities with an eye towards setting life-sustaining actions in motion, based on principles of food sovereignty. Measures should aim to reduce dependence on future humanitarian interventions yet contribute to the de-colonization process via building Palestinian resilience capacity.