Farm ministers open meet

Arab agriculture ministers opened a conference in Abu Dhabi yesterday with a call by the Palestinian minister on regional states to open up their markets for Palestinian farm products and provide aid to rehabilitate the sector that has been devastated by Israel.

Addressing the participants from the 21-nation Arab League, Palestinian Agriculture Minister Hikmat Zaid said the farming sector in the West Bank and Gaza Strip has been wrecked deliberately by Israel with the aim of evicting residents from their land, and he estimated loss at around $545 million over the past year alone.

He warned that further deterioration in farming means a large decline in the gross domestic product as the farming sector is the main component of the Palestinian economy, adding damage has already resulted in a worsening in unemployment and poverty.

"The Palestinian farming sector has been almost destroyed by the Israeli occupation forces since 1994 but we are trying to rehabilitate this sector," Zaid said.

"Israel is targeting the farming sector because it wants to undermine the everlasting attachment between the Palestinians and their land. It is doing so through settlements, destruction of trees and farms, confiscation of land, imposing siege, cutting off water supplies, deportation and other economic and security measures.

"We now want a lot from our Arab brothers. We ask them to be sincere in their intentions to open up their markets for Palestinian products. We want them to earnestly help us in rehabilitating this sector and carry out farming projects in our country. We have already presented a list of projects and it is up to them now to decide on them."

Zaid said Israeli attacks and other measures during the Intifada over the past 18 months have resulted in the destruction of more than 500,000 trees and 33,000 donums of cultivated areas. Occupation troops have also destroyed more than 150 water wells, 200 greenhouses, 70 farms, water networks and experiment centres.

More than 5,200 farmers have directly been affected by those measures and some of the trees that have been uprooted have "social and religious significance."

Regarding losses during the latest three-week Israeli aggression, he said no estimates have yet been made because of the Israeli siege and lack of communication.

But he added such attacks have already resulted in large indirect losses as nearly 90 per cent of the farm exports from the West Bank have been crippled. He put annual Palestinian agricultural production at between $800 million and $900 million, while exports are estimated at around $300 million, mostly to Arab and European markets.

"The Israeli attacks and repressive measures over the past few years have led to an increase in unemployment and an aggravation in the food security problem. More than 50 per cent of the Palestinian people are now living under the poverty line and I hope that you realise the damaging effects of such developments on the ability of the Palestinian people to remain steadfast and resistant in the face of the ongoing Israeli onslaught."

In his address, Saeed Moham-med Al Raqabani, UAE Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, slammed Israel's attempts to destroy the Palestinian farming sector and said the UAE would continue to provide assistance to the Palestinian people in line with instructions by President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

"The UAE will remain committed to helping the Palestinian people ... and on this occasion, we, in the UAE, salute the steadfastness of these people who are presenting a wonderful example in sacrifice for liberty and dignity," the Minister said.

He spoke about the UAE's achievements in the agricultural sector and credited them to the encouragement and interest by Sheikh Zayed, whom he cited as saying once: "Let me have a farm and I guarantee you a civilisation."

He said an extensive farming drive ordered by the President has already resulted in achieving a 100 per cent self sufficiency in date and fish, 83 per cent in vegetable, 80 per cent in fresh milk, 32 per cent in eggs and more than 20 per cent in meat.

The expansion also boosted the farming sector's share in the GDP to more than five per cent. Other speakers at the three-day conference included Dr Salim Al Louzi, Director General of the Khartoum-based Arab Organisation for Agricultural Development (AOAD), which is holding the 27th meeting of its general assembly in Abu Dhabi.

He presented a gloomy picture about the Arab farming sector, which he said is suffering from heavy dependence on foreign imports. He put the Arab food gap - the difference between imports and exports - at nearly $13 billion last year.

"The Arab food security situation has been affected by drought, defective agricultural policies, spread of farm diseases, lack of investments and other factors," he said.

"The widening Arab food gap and its serious implications on Arab security should prompt us to pool our efforts to restore balance to the farming sector. In this regard, we should not ignore the vital role of the private sector and other non-governmental bodies."

A similar call was made by Arab League Deputy Secretary General Abdullah Al Suhaibani, who said heavy reliance on imported food "makes our countries vulnerable to external threats and weakens our position in the international economy."