Corn harvest season begins in Gaza

As corn harvest season has begun in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian farmer Rafiq Al-Hafi and his sons stepped up work for harvesting corn, amid the poor living conditions there.

Rafiq, in his sixties, said he and his three sons, who began harvesting in the early hours of morning, are growing corn on leased land. They collect the corncobs in Plastic boxes to be ready for selling to citizens, merchants, or stall owners who sell corn boiled or grilled at a fair price.

Hafi told A24 News Agency that the purchasing power of corn is weak although it is available and cheap in Gaza. He added that he used to sell three to four hundred boxes, but now he barely sells seventy or eighty boxes due to the difficult economic conditions.

One of Rafiq’s sons told A24 that he decided to help his fathers in planting corn, which needs plenty of water and constant care and has many great health benefits.

Farmers and sellers wait for the corn season to earn a living in the coastal enclave, where unemployment rate stands at 50 percent. Uday Dababish, Stall owner who sells corn, told A24 News Agency that selling corn in summer is the only source of income for his family.

Walid Abu Abdo, Gaza Citizen, said that he, like many people, loves to eat corn, which is affordable in the Gaza Strip and one of the Strip’s main agricultural grains.