By SPA
United Nations : The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is assisting Palestinian farmers, shepherds and fisherman in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with 14 projects intended to stimulate agricultural production through horticulture, greenhouse and irrigation rehabilitation.
In a release on Friday, the FAO said “the most serious area of humanitarian concern is Gaza, where agriculture and fisheries have been badly hit by the lack of inputs, constraints on farm exports and restrictions on fishing areas.”
A fund of $10 million has been provided by Italy, Spain, Japan, Norway, the European Commission and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, according to the FAO release.
FAO has appealed for $7.3 million in additional funding for this year “for the restoration of agricultural capacity and livelihood improvements for farmers, livestock rearers and fishers, for improved food security assessments and monitoring, and for strengthened coordination of interventions in the agriculture sector,” according to the release.
While “some agricultural inputs can be purchased locally,” FAO states, “internationally-procured items are much harder to import, such as plastic sheeting for greenhouses which is currently awaiting clearance by Israeli authorities.”
Separately, the United Nations and a number of humanitarian groups are calling for $461.2 million in aid for Palestinians.
The FAO also said it will be helping Palestinian farmers, shepherds and fisherman with how to respond to possible bird flu outbreaks.
Bird flu has already been recorded throughout the Middle East. There have been 43 cases and 19 deaths from the human strain of the virus in Egypt, three cases and two deaths in Iraq, one case in Djibouti and several cases and deaths worldwide since 2003, according to the World Health Organization.