Palestinians Strive to Expand Wheat Yield amid Import Crisis

Facing a mounting wheat crisis, a government-run Seed Bank in West Bank has been racing against the clock to provide hundreds of local farmers with tons of improved wheat seeds in hope of greater yields.

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The Palestinian territories have been suffering from a shortage of supply and soaring local wheat and flour prices, both the main source of imports, since the outbreak of Ukraine conflict. Currently, the Palestinians depend entirely on the imports of wheat both in terms of food and animal feed, with up to 40,000 tons of imports annually to cover the demand of each.

"Every country in the world has its own (food) stock. But the Palestinians do not have that 'luxury'," Sameh Jarrar, the director of the Plant Genetic Resources Department in the Seed Bank at the Agriculture Ministry, said, adding that Palestinians have been making every effort to garner sufficient local alternatives to food imports in case the conflict would not end soon.

Researchers would work with local farmers to grow the varieties in test fields on promoting yields, climate resilience, and genetic diversity, according to Mohammed Abed, director of the 750,00-hectare Beit Qad Experimental Station for field crops.

"We carry out the preservation by planting the varieties annually, multiplying them and renewing the bank from time to time. We annually provide some 50 tons of improved seeds to farmers, who world cultivate them and put the yield on sale in local markets," he said.

However, things do not seem easy primarily because "Israel controls much of the arable Palestinian lands in the West Bank and has imposed restrictions on Palestinian farmers' access to the lands," according to Ahmed Rabaia, a local agricultural expert.

"In 2010, there were about 2,500 hectares producing about 45,000 tons, which constituted between 10 to 15 percent of consumption. Due to Israeli violations, we have only 1,800 hectares left and those produce only about 30,000 tons, and this amount constitutes between five to six percent of consumption," Rabaia added.

"At a time when we do not know when the Russia-Ukraine conflict will end, it is necessary to search for other sources such as Egypt, Canada, and Australia to reduce the risks that we may be exposed to in the future in order to obtain wheat at low prices," he explained.