Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security published an outline for the rehabilitation of agricultural land following the damage of the “Iron Swords” war against Hamas rebels in Gaza.
According to the calculation of the costs of the actions recommended in the protocol, the cost of the initial restoration of the land is between 1,000 and 2,000 Shekels (USD 272 – USD 544) per dunam (1/4 acre/1,000 square meters) acre/and in some cases up to 3,000 Shekels (USD 816), depending on the severity of the damage.
To this cost are added the costs of repairing drainage infrastructures, initial land preparation, and compensation for reduced yields in the years until full restoration.
The outline includes details regarding six main types of damage, among them: manual cleaning of lumpy waste and damage to agricultural implements and harvested crops, and removal of contaminated soil.
Further, construction waste in fields, local rehabilitation of excavations, rehabilitation of channels and drainage systems, rehabilitation of access roads and field margins, rehabilitation of damage to the circulation of planned crops, dispersion of organic matter and seeds after cleaning and estimation of crop yield in crops.
Since the 7th of October, extensive agricultural areas have been used for military activity, which includes the movement of tanks and other military vehicles, earthworks, and more.
As a result of this activity, there was serious damage to the structure of the soil and its fertility, to the growth capacity of the agricultural crop in the quality and quantity of the crop in the short and long term.
In addition, in the fields where access is limited due to the war, the treatments and processing required in the field and the growing season are not carried out, and sometimes the following season also goes down the drain.
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