The atmosphere at a Gaza poultry farm at the border town of Juhir Al-Deek sounds semi-urban. All elements of nature surround some 70000 chickens enabling Palestinian farmer Mohammed Sadi Shamaly 66 from putting these chickens on the production line again after the Israeli war machine had destroyed his farms.
Shamaly’s poultry farms are located at the border town of Juhir Al-Deek hundreds of meters away from the separation fence of the southern part of Gaza City. The Israeli occupation forces have destroyed these farms in 2014 causing a total loss of 1700000 US dollars for Shamaly.
Gas crisis
Farmer Shamaly has not yet decided to start anew a production line at his farms next month as the ongoing gas crisis which is necessary for warming up the chickens controls the whole process. Chickens cannot cope with the cold weather and the farming process is long in addition to the high cost he pointed out.
Shamaly told the PIC reporter “The Israeli occupation destroyed my 40-dunum farm which contained 11 poultry farms 40 olive trees and two water wells which covered 30% of Gaza’s needs for eggs as it was the largest in Gaza containing 180000 chickens. Today I am in one million dollar debt for merchants and banks.”
The Israeli occupation forces destroyed Shamaly’s farms during the Israeli offensive on Gaza in 2014 destroying the houses of his children and grandchildren some 140 of them forcing them to leave the area after they had miraculously survived the attack. Later the family reestablished the production lines again in the border farm.
Siege’s implications
In the old days Shamaly used to purchase a big gas tank which was enough for the whole winter season but the siege of Gaza and the Israeli occupation’s control of Gaza’s fuel supplies forced him to purchase 12-KG gas cylinder (with a total cost of 90 NIS per cylinder) to save thousands of chickens.
He adds “The gas crisis begins in December and continues until April as chickens need 170 days until they finally can lay eggs. Now I have 40 heaters in each of my seven farms and due to the ongoing gas crisis I had to purchase gas from the black market and now I am hesitant whether to start a new production line or not.”
Chickens need to be warm continuously in the first 50 days of their lives. A chicken lays 260 eggs per year during which it eats 50 KG of forage at a time the total price for one package of eggs produced at Shamaly’s farms (30 eggs) is around 8 NIS.
