A 'ray of hope' in Gaza: Seed bank rebuilds as farmers cling to heirloom crops after war
Inside a small makeshift tent in the central Gaza Strip, a small team is working to save what remains of one of the territory's most valuable resources: its indigenous seeds. Shelves of plastic tubs, hessian sacks and barrels now hold carefully labelled stocks of wheat, barley, leafy vegetables and herbs at the Al Qarara Seed Bank in Deir el-Balah.
The project, established in 2017 with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), is trying to rebuild its collection after the Israel-Hamas war, which began in October 2023, destroyed the original facility and wiped out many seed varieties.
"Heirloom seeds give continuity. They provide 80 to 90 percent of the same yield repeatedly. That is why we relied on heirloom seeds," said Salem Muhanna, who manages the bank with his daughter, 27-year-old Hanadi Muhanna.
The Muhannas said the bank was completely destroyed during the fighting and the family was displaced several times before settling in Deir el-Balah. "Eventually we settled in Deir el-Balah and managed, thankfully, to establish a small tent. We created something simple using basic means," Hanadi Muhanna said.
Unlike commercial hybrid varieties, heirloom seeds can be saved and replanted year after year and are often better adapted to local conditions. That makes them particularly critical in a place where farming has been pushed to the brink.
Before the war, agriculture — including crop production, herding and fishing — accounted for about 10 percent of Gaza's economy, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. But the conflict has been devastating. The FAO said this week that only 3 percent of Gaza's cropland remains accessible and undamaged.
Farmers also face severe shortages of water, fertiliser and agricultural chemicals. "There is no water, no fertiliser, no agricultural chemicals. Nothing is available," Salem Muhanna said.
Israeli restrictions on goods entering the territory have compounded the problems. Osama Al-Mukhalalati, an economic security officer with the ICRC, said Gaza was once self-sufficient in fresh vegetables and exported about a third of its produce. Now, he said, agricultural output can meet at best 10 percent of Gaza's vegetable needs.
The seed bank operates on a lending system: trusted farmers receive seeds, grow a crop, and return an equal amount at the end of the season. For many, that arrangement has become a lifeline.
"During the war, we considered this project our main safeguard," said Suleiman Abu Shamas, a farmer from Deir el-Balah inspecting a waist-high chilli pepper crop. "With agricultural supplies cut off and prevented from entering through the crossings, the only safeguard we had was to build a food basket based on heirloom seeds that already existed within Gaza."
Al-Mukhalalati described the seed bank as "a ray of hope amid the complete darkness hanging over the agricultural sector." For the families tending the small plots that remain, it is also a way to keep Gaza's farming heritage alive and to preserve the possibility of recovery after more than two years of war.
The ceasefire in place since October 2025 has not stopped Israeli military operations, which Israel says target militants. The military says it controls more than 60 percent of the strip and has refused to begin withdrawing until Hamas fully disarms. For now, the seed bank operates with basic means in a tent — but those tending it hope it can grow into something more.