February 18, 2008

GAZA, (PIC)-- Dr. Mohamed Al-Agha, the agriculture minister in the PA caretaker government, warned Sunday that the agricultural sector and food security in the Gaza Strip are facing a disaster after Israel decided to sever its economic ties with the Strip, adding that the situation in Gaza portends real famine.

In a press conference, Dr. Agha called on the UN organizations and the concerned sides to assume their responsibilities and to visit Gaza to see closely the tragic reality there.

The minister explained that as a result of the closure of crossings in the face of Gaza exports and imports, the daily losses of the agricultural sector are estimated at $200,000, adding that the area of agricultural lands deliberately destroyed by the Israeli occupation amounts to 200 square kilometers, where this number does not include the lands which were reclaimed and destroyed again.

The minister also stated that the Gaza Strip suffers a food deficit estimated at 80 percent in fisheries, 90 percent in red meat and 65 percent in dairy products.

The minister pointed out that the poverty rate rose to more than 90 percent, where the unemployment rates rose to more than 75 percent in the agricultural sector alone and 85 percent in the other sectors.