Seed bank in Gaza helps farmers grow food amid war and blockade
A seed bank in Gaza is helping farmers grow food despite the ongoing conflict, occupation, and aid shortages, providing seeds and support to maintain agricultural production.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
A seed bank in central Gaza is helping farmers grow food despite the ongoing war, occupation and severe restrictions on aid. The project, run by Salama Mohanna and his daughter Hanadi, was first set up in 2017 to collect local seeds and give farmers a reliable supply. It was destroyed when Israeli forces advanced into Gaza in 2024. Now operating from a tent, the pair have started again.
The United Nations reported that when the Trump-backed peace plan came into effect last October, just 4% of Gaza's pre-war farmland was accessible and undamaged after Israeli attacks. Eight months on, Israeli forces continue to occupy much of the territory's agricultural land, leaving most Gazans dependent on aid or unaffordable food markets. The food supply is unreliable, prices are high, and there is little choice in what to eat.
Many Gazans have turned to growing their own food, whether on rooftops, in home gardens or next to tents. The seed bank, funded by the International Committee of the Red Cross, aims to preserve local seed varieties and help farmers achieve some self-sufficiency. Salama Mohanna said: "The Gaza Strip is besieged and completely closed. Some seeds were closed to extension, and some have already disappeared. So we try to preserve them. We achieve self-sufficiency. I become a producer. I become able to overcome the loss of some seeds and the disappearance from the market."
But the project accounts for only a tiny fraction of Gaza's food needs. The UK was among several countries last month to describe the aid coming into Gaza as insufficient in both quality and quantity. The Israeli authority responsible for bringing aid into Gaza told the BBC that, going by UN guidelines, it had allowed four times the food needed into the territory since the ceasefire with Hamas was struck last year. The International Committee of the Red Cross says the situation is not good enough. Its spokesman said: "Farming in Gaza, it's an incredibly difficult situation right now. There is very little space. The soil that is available has been reused again and again, so it's very poor. The soil itself is exhausted, as are the farmers. And then on top of that, you have the restriction on what is able to be brought in to support agriculture in Gaza itself. No seeds, no fertilizer, no nursery soil to support new seeds."
Despite these challenges, the seed bank's work is starting to take root, and farmers in Gaza, for now, have options.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC NEWS |
|---|---|
| Only 4% of Gaza's pre-war farmland was accessible and undamaged after Israeli attacks when the Trump-backed peace plan took effect in October. | |
| The Israeli authority stated it had allowed four times the food needed into Gaza since the ceasefire, based on UN guidelines. | |
| The seed bank in Gaza was destroyed when Israeli forces advanced into the territory in 2024. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC News focuses on the human-interest story of the seed bank as a symbol of resilience, while also providing a broader context of the agricultural devastation, aid restrictions, and the Israeli authority's counter-claim about food supplies. The tone is neutral but highlights the severe difficulties faced by farmers and the inadequacy of aid. The report includes direct quotes from the seed bank founders and the ICRC spokesman, and notes that foreign journalists are not allowed into Gaza.
- “The Gaza Strip is besieged and completely closed. Some seeds were closed to extension, and some have already disappeared. So we try to preserve them. We achieve self-sufficiency. I become a producer. I become able to overcome the loss of some seeds and the disappearance from the market.”
- “Farming in Gaza, it's an incredibly difficult situation right now. There is very little space. The soil that is available has been reused again and again, so it's very poor. The soil itself is exhausted, as are the farmers.”
- “The Israeli authority responsible for bringing aid into Gaza told us that, going by UN guidelines, they'd allowed four times the food needed into the territory since the ceasefire with Hamas was struck last year.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.