AGRICULTURE
A Joyful Spring Harvest in a Gaza Greenhouse
May, 2019
“I like to begin my day early inside the greenhouse. My life revolves around the progress of my plants. It’s not just a source of income for me, it’s my passion. It’s exciting!”
It is springtime in Gaza now and the flowers are in bloom. And inside Anera-built greenhouses, tomatoes are ripening. Amena, 40, is the owner of one of these greenhouses.
She lives in a modest tent by the seashore with her mother. “I enjoy the fresh breeze,” Amena says. In the evenings, she likes to take long walks along the shore, watching the local shepherds pass and feeling the gusts of sea air. “It provides a calmness that helps soften the harshness of daily life here.”
Amena is the sole provider for her mother and a number of other family members.
“I like to begin my day early inside the greenhouse. My life revolves around the progress of my plants. It’s not just a source of income for me, it’s my passion. It’s exciting!”
Amena learned how to farm and raise crops from her father. When she was young she watched him plant eggplants, tomatoes and green peppers on his land. Amena used to plant crops in her open field, but she was constrained by the seasonal changes. Now she can plant and harvest year-round.
She began harvesting her current crop in early February. She tracks the quantities she harvests so she can evaluate the success of each crop. This batch has produced one ton of tomatoes. Amena is pleased with the “healthy and bountiful” crop.
Anera’s Agriculture Team Visits Amena’s Greenhouse in Gaza
Anera Agriculture Programs Manager Naser Qadous (based in Ramallah) and Anera’s Gaza staff recently visited Amena’s greenhouse to check on its progress and give advice on best practices in fertilizer use and composting.
Amena was thrilled to learn about other types of tomatoes she can grow in her greenhouse, particularly a variety that grows in a cluster. “Clusters of tomatoes on the vine are more attractive for shoppers,” she says. “It’s better both for marketing and for prices.”
Because of her convenient sea-side location, Amena’s greenhouse attracts many traders coming to buy her produce. Still, she makes sure to set aside some of her bounty to share with her poorer neighbors.
During a recent harvest, Amena donated 300 kilos worth of tomatoes. “I was giving away whole jerry-cans of tomatoes,” she says with a grin.
In his three-day visit, Naser met with dozens of families across Gaza who benefit from Anera greenhouses. Naser says Amena is one of the most interesting participants in Anera’s greenhouse project.
Her story reflects how small farming in greenhouses can not only provide food security but also income for other needs. By having a year-round surplus of fresh produce, families like Amena’s can cover basic necessities.
The farm records of another farmer from Deir El Balah show that he was able to sell his tomatoes for a value of $500 during March and April of 2019. “It may seem like a moderate income to some, but inside Gaza this kind of money is a life saver,” Naser observes.
Following these successes, Anera is considering expanding the program. “Amena, like many farmers, wants us to help her expand her greenhouse," Naser says. "Farmers in Gaza really deserve this kind of agricultural growth.”
Thanks to six generous donors, Anera plans to construct 104 greenhouses in 2019 for poor and vulnerable families in Gaza.
