Supporting farmers and herders now is critical to produce food, sustain livestock and avert a deeper crisis More than 72,000 farming and herding families in the West Bank – nearly…

Supporting farmers and herders now is critical to produce food, sustain livestock and avert a deeper crisis

More than 72,000 farming and herding families in the West Bank – nearly two-thirds of all agricultural families – urgently require emergency agricultural assistance, according to a new survey published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). 

The survey shows that about 90 per cent of West Bank agricultural families have recently lost income, driven by sharp declines in crop and livestock production and sales. These estimates are based on FAO’s Data in Emergencies (DIEM) survey for the West Bank, conducted from July–August 2025.

Agriculture remains a vital lifeline. Of the approximately 700,000 families living in the West Bank (according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics), an estimated 115,000 depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, making the sector central to food security and income.

“The results of FAO’s DIEM survey – the second conducted in the West Bank this year – are clear. Agricultural families urgently need assistance – both cash and in-kind – to mitigate the impacts of widespread settler violence, a deepening economic crisis and near-ubiquitous loss of income,” said Rein Paulsen, Director of FAO’s Office of Emergencies and Resilience.

Funded by the European Union, the DIEM is one of the most comprehensive assessments of the escalating impacts of the Gaza Strip conflict on West Bank farming and herding families. More than 1,500 families were surveyed, including crop producers, livestock holders and families who rely on both farming and herding.

The survey highlights the mounting pressures facing rural families. Nearly nine in ten agricultural West Bank families – or about 100,000 agricultural households – have recently experienced at least one acute “shock”. The most common shocks reported by families were conflict and violence, rising living costs, and job loss.

Many families previously relied on off-farm work to supplement their incomes. Before October 2023, 41 per cent of respondents worked in Israel or Israeli settlements. Of these, 91 per cent lost their jobs following the conflict’s outbreak, and less than half have since found alternative work – mostly in agriculture – at a time when farming itself has become increasingly difficult.

Families also reported limited access to water, movement restrictions and land access constraints, lack of available and affordable agricultural inputs, and high fuel and transport costs.