The role of the urban agriculture on food security during armed conflicts in the Gaza Strip

Hadi Khalil, MA; Husam Al Najar, PhD

doi:10.5055/jem.0544

Authors

Hadi Khalil, MA
Husam Al Najar, PhD https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8777-4663

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.0544

Keywords:

urban agriculture, Gaza Strip, food security, armed conflict, poverty alleviation

Abstract

This study aims to assess the potential of urban agriculture to secure daily needs during the armed conflicts, in addition to assess the contribution of urban agriculture in alleviating poverty level and unemployment rate for its practitioners.

A combination of both quantitative and qualitative research methods was employed in this study. In the quantitative design, 129 randomly selected urban farmers from the area of the survey completed the self-administered close-ended questionnaires, whereas the statistical analysis presents the socio-demographic, economic, and other aspects of the households. The qualitative data collection included interviews with six governmental and nongovernmental officials.

The results show that 89.2 percent of the urban agriculture practitioners are feeling food security. However, a small percentage of the households who practice urban agriculture are still experiencing difficulties with food security. In the meantime, the armed conflict forced most of the urban farmers to evacuate their homes or lands; thus, only 34.9 percent of urban farmers managed to gain food during the 2014 armed conflict.

In a nutshell, urban agriculture significantly and positively contributes to alleviating household food insecurity in the study area. However, its role was very limited during the 2014 armed conflict.

Author Biographies

Hadi Khalil, MA

Operation Associate at United Nation Department of Safety and Security, Gaza Office, Gaza

Husam Al Najar, PhD

Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Islamic University of Gaza, Gaza

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