Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Gaza's farmers do not enjoy sufficient freedom to carry out their activities, given that most of the agricultural lands are concentrated in the east of the Strip, noting that the Israeli occupation is spraying pesticides in the area, in addition to the scarcity of suitable water for irrigation. But Azem Abu Daqqa (27 years old) and his sister Safia Abu Daqqa (25 years old) tried to overcome these circumstances and establish a different agricultural project.
Azem and Safiya, residents of the town of Khuza’a, located east of the city of Khan Yunis, south of the besieged Gaza Strip, have decided to achieve their goal of establishing an agricultural project within the sustainable development programs of the Palestinian agricultural sector, after they graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture at Al-Azhar University in Gaza. Their project received great acclaim from many farmers who praised their idea and the method of using water canals for irrigation. Azem and Safiya implemented their project after they despaired of reclaiming any agricultural land in Gaza, given the possibility of it being exposed to various damages at any time due to various Israeli violations and repeated occupation aggression. This would destroy the infrastructure, causing wastewater to mix with groundwater in some areas of the southern Gaza Strip, where there are no sewage networks.
The two agricultural engineers designed a hydroponic farm, which is not the first of its kind in Gaza, but it is the largest. It was established on an area of 200 square meters inside a greenhouse, and its production is equivalent to the production of one dunum of land in an open field. It is noteworthy that, after an effort that lasted for more than a year, they succeeded in producing lettuce in large quantities. This technology is based on agriculture without relying on the soil or one of its elements, but rather it is based primarily on water and nutrient solutions. Azem confirms to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that “this farm or the approved hydroponic technology is safe, and it also solves the problem of water salinity that farmers suffer from, as well as water scarcity,” explaining that “there is no loss of water, because that used for irrigation inside the canals is reused.” More than once, which saves 90 percent of water.”
Azem points out that he and his sister Safia spent “years in failed attempts to join the labor market, knowing that the agricultural sector is the least sector in terms of job opportunities. Therefore, we started thinking of a new technology, and we found that farming without soil may be one of the successful agricultural projects.” In the besieged Gaza Strip, which suffers from a scarcity of agricultural land. He added: “We only use 20 percent of chemicals in our agriculture, as it relies primarily on liquid fertilizers and water,” stressing that “those chemicals are not agricultural pesticides that are harmful to human health.”
Azem explains: “We seriously looked into new agricultural fields and conducted research within the framework, then we decided to delve into hydroponics. So we prepared a greenhouse that would absorb the sunlight and heat needed for the plants, and we installed an automatic irrigation system, and we began to monitor what was happening. After about four months and the initial results appeared, we went. We take notes to develop our project, and we have already started to achieve success. After one month, we saw that we had succeeded in the project.” Perhaps what is striking about Azem Wasfieh’s project is that growth in hydroponics is faster than in traditional agriculture. Azem explains that “production takes between 30 and 35 days in hydroponics, while it takes between two months and 80 days in traditional agriculture. Thus, we can achieve Growing crops faster, safer, and in a smaller space.”
For her part, Safia says that “hydroponic farming is suitable for the Palestinian environment under Israeli occupation and siege,” explaining that “its application is not limited to the Gaza Strip, but rather includes the occupied West Bank, which suffers from Judaization and Israeli settlement on the lands of Palestinian farmers.” She adds, "This agriculture saves effort and eliminates the use of traditional agricultural tools, as it does not require plowing or dirt paths." Safiya points out that they faced “several difficulties, including installing the complete system for the project inside the greenhouse. We relied on experiments until we arrived at the best way to install the system. Among the difficulties was also the nutrient solutions for the plants, given the lack of the necessary elements to install them due to the Israeli siege, so we had to to use alternatives.
Azem and Safiya’s project would not have been possible without the support they received from several local and international bodies. Safia says, “The project is beautiful and involves a large future investment, but its cost is high, especially since hydroponics is new in Palestine. And because those around us realized that we were embarking on a successful experience, the encouragement became collective.” After their success in producing lettuce, the two agricultural engineers seek in the coming period to produce peppers and tomatoes, then move forward in this field and develop it, perhaps convincing the official authorities to support such development projects.
source
Achievements and Awards
- Years in active
: From
To