'Bountiful' olive harvest season kicks off in Gaza

The Hamas-run agriculture ministry declared on Monday that the olive harvest season has formally kicked off in the besieged coastal enclave, with expectations that the current season will be bountiful. 

Speaking to The New Arab, Adham al-Bassiouni, the spokesman of the ministry said that "in Gaza, about 43,000 hectares of land are planted with olive trees; 90 per cent of them are fruitful."

"The farmers and landowners will be able to pick about one ton of olives from each hectare," Bassiouni said. "They will have the chance to make up for the losses they incurred in the previous years because of the coronavirus crises and climate change."

In 2021, the official explains, the farmers harvested only 60 per cent compared to what they will pick this year. 

Speaking to The New Arab, the local farmers expressed hope that they will be able to make more money during the current 40-day season, saying that their products will be enough for local consumption.  

Fawwaz al-Kafarna, a farmer based in Beit Hanoun who has a 30-hectare land planted with olives, said that he harvested 25 tons of olives and he has sold most of them to his customers. 

Because of the bountiful season, the 56-year-old father of four said that he was able to employ 20 workers to help in picking my olives. "Such seasons are golden chances for thousands of workers to make some money," he noted.  

In the past three years, he recalls, "I incurred financial losses as I had faced a decline of 70 per cent of the olive production," pointing out that what made the matter worse was the impact of climate change on the besieged territory. 

Nader al-Masri, a Gaza-based worker, expressed his joy as he now works for 14 hours a day on three farms of olives, allowing him to make more money. 

"Now, I can make $US 50 a day and this helps me keep my family afloat for a few months, and I will likely gain about $US 2,000 at the end of the season," he said.  

"The farmers are suffering in Gaza,” the 39-year-old father of seven added to The New Arab. "We wait for such seasons from year to year to obtain money and provide the basic needs for our impoverished families."