Less than 1% for agriculture… Has land become outside the calculations of the Palestinian budget?

In Palestine, agriculture cannot be viewed as an ordinary economic sector, nor can it be treated as a marginal item in the general budget. Agriculture here is not merely the production of vegetables, trees, or crops; rather, it is a symbol of steadfastness, a tool for protecting the land, and the first line of defense in confronting settlement expansion.Therefore, when the Ministry of Agriculture's budget is less than 1% of the general budget, the issue is not just about numbers, but about a dangerous political message that land is no longer at the forefront of national priorities as it should be.We live in a homeland where the main battle revolves around land. The occupation does not hide its goals, settlement does not stop expanding, and land confiscation occurs in various forms every day. In contrast, the most dangerous thing that can happen is for the land to remain empty, abandoned, without agriculture, investment, or active human presence.The settler does not easily expand towards cultivated and inhabited land; instead, they always head towards emptiness. They search for land whose owners have disappeared, for fields where life has stopped, and for areas where agriculture and development have declined. Therefore, leaving land without investment or cultivation does not only represent an economic loss, but constitutes a direct national danger.From here, we must stop treating agriculture as a service file and begin treating it as a sovereign, security, and strategic file. Just as countries allocate budgets to protect their borders, Palestine must allocate real budgets to protect its land by cultivating it and enabling its owners to remain on it.The most important national strategy today must be based on a clear principle: every threatened land must be cultivated, every area adjacent to settlement must be developed, and every area exposed to confiscation must be transformed into a production and steadfastness project.We need a comprehensive national program titled “Agriculture for Survival,” in which the government, private sector, municipalities, civil society organizations, universities, and international institutions participate. A program that does not just plant trees on occasions, but works to open agricultural roads, provide water, support farmers, finance productive projects, facilitate access to markets, and enable youth to invest in their lands.Municipalities must also become essential partners in the battle to protect land, by supporting threatened areas, directing infrastructure projects towards areas targeted by settlement, and linking urban planning with the aim of strengthening the Palestinian presence in sensitive areas.As for the private sector, it must realize that investing in agriculture is not a charitable act, but an investment in national and economic stability. The land that is cultivated today protects the economy tomorrow, and protects society the day after tomorrow.Most importantly, successive governments must stop viewing agriculture as a small ministry in the budget, while in reality it is a large ministry in national significance. It is unacceptable to talk about steadfastness and confronting settlement, and then leave the sector most connected to steadfastness to receive crumbs of resources.Less than 1% for agriculture does not only reflect a lack of capabilities, but reflects a flaw in prioritizing. How can land be the focus of the conflict, while agriculture is not the focus of investment?If we want to protect Palestine, we must protect the land. If we want to protect the land, we must cultivate it. And if we want it to be cultivated, we must place agriculture at the heart of the national budget, not on its margins.In the end, politics may sometimes succeed in postponing losses, and diplomacy may succeed in gaining time, but the land is only protected by those who cultivate it, plant it, and live on it. Every dunam cultivated is a new Palestinian flag raised on the soil of the homeland, and every dunam left empty is a new opportunity for those who want to swallow it.Therefore, the real question that decision-makers must face today is not: How much have we allocated to agriculture? But: How many dunams have we lost because we did not allocate to agriculture what it deserves?