FAO calls for urgent access to deliver at-scale emergency agricultural aid to prevent spread of famine

Cairo – FAO joined the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General and humanitarian partners in calling for unrestricted and safe access to deliver at-scale emergency agricultural aid to prevent the spread of famine and further loss of lives. FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol spoke today at the Cairo Ministerial Conference to enhance humanitarian response in Gaza.

The Conference was co-convened by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the UN Secretary-General, the UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

“Today, food availability is at an all-time low across the entire Gaza Strip, and food supply has sharply deteriorated,” Deputy Director-General Bechdol said. “The window of opportunity to deliver assistance is now, today, not tomorrow. Food, medicine and fuel are self-evident priorities, but we must also prioritize the ability to grow food locally where it is needed most to ensure survival.”

The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), issued in October, warned of a famine risk for the entire Gaza Strip from November 2024 through April 2025. Around 133,000 people or 6 percent of the population are already experiencing catastrophic levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 5, Catastrophe) – meaning that people have almost no food and cannot meet their basic needs. This number is expected to nearly triple in the coming months.

Moreover, in early November, the independent Famine Review Committee found a strong likelihood that famine is already occurring or imminent in parts of northern Gaza. 

Bechdol reiterated FAO’s commitment to scale up its response to mitigate famine and prevent its spread across the Gaza Strip and beyond while emphasizing that this cannot be achieved without access. To this end, the Deputy Director-General called on Member States to put more pressure to lift the ban on private food imports in place since early October in southern Gaza and mobilize resources to fund FAO’s appeal for $53 million which is part of the 2025 UN Humanitarian Flash Appeal. These funds will support around 80 000 farmers, herders and fisher men and women with time-critical agriculture inputs to restore local food production.

“In Gaza, ensuring the right to food is not just about meeting immediate needs—it is about safeguarding human dignity, preventing famine from spreading, and laying the groundwork for rebuilding a resilient agrifood system,” she concluded.

High-level participants included Badr Abdelatty, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates of the Arab Republic of Egypt; Mohammad Mustafa, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Palestine; Ayman Safadi, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia; Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy Antonio Tajani; Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations; Sigrid Kaag, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza; Philippe Lazzarini, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA); Muhannad Hadi, Deputy Special Coordinator, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process on behalf of UNOCHA; Amal Emam, Acting CEO of the Egyptian Red Crescent; Younis Alkhateeb, President of the Palestinian Red Crescent among others.

Agrifood systems have been destroyed

Before October 7, Gaza was largely self-sufficient in vegetables, eggs, fresh milk, poultry and fish, and produced much of its red meat, olive oil and fruits.

More than one year into the war, agrifood systems have collapsed, and local food production – the primary source of nutrition and sometimes people’s only source for food – has decimated across the whole of Gaza. According to the FAO-UNOSAT most recent geospatial analysis in Gaza, nearly 70 percent of croplands – which contributed up to one-third of daily food consumption – have been damaged or destroyed since the escalation of hostilities. The same is true for orchards, greenhouses, water wells and other agricultural infrastructure.

Moreover, almost 95 percent of cattle and more than half of sheep and goat herds, have died. These animal losses have both removed access to critical and nutritious sources of protein and milk and devastated people’s livelihoods.

FAO stands ready to scale up critical emergency agriculture aid and assistance, together with its partners, as soon as the situation allows. This includes reactivating local food production, restoring the availability of highly nutritious food in Gaza, especially in view of the winter season, preventing the agricultural sector’s total collapse, preserving remaining agricultural livelihoods, and curbing hunger and malnutrition, especially among children.