Cropland Damage Assessment from Space in the Gaza Strip

ENHANCED DECISION-MAKING AND SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

Satellite Imagery is an important tool to know what's happening on the ground in the Gaza Strip, explained by FAO technical expert.

Agricultural damage assessment became an important foundation for FAO's decision-making. FAO noted:

UNOSAT and FAO's joint products informed damage and loss assessments in the agricultural sector, advising a wide range of products across the office, including project proposals, situation reports, talking points, and responses to media inquiries

SUPPORTING FARMERS AND AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITIES

The analysis was crucial in assessing Gaza's remaining productive capacity and planning targeted interventions. FAO technical expert explained,

Based on the damage to the farms that was provided by the satellite analysis, we could get further and more accurate estimates on what is remaining and what we can do,  This information was crucial for FAO's response.

The detailed analysis helped FAO understand the specific challenges faced by different agricultural sectors. This allowed FAO to target its interventions more effectively.

ENHANCED COORDINATION AND RESOURCE ALLOCATION

UNOSAT's products have improved coordination among humanitarian actors by providing a common reference point for needs assessments and response planning. This has facilitated more effective resource allocation and targeted interventions. The collaboration strengthened FAO's position in interagency efforts.

The fact that we did have access to the analysis from satellite analysis [...] made it easier and more straightforward for us to take the lead as we are supposed to in the agricultural sector, an FAO technical expert explained. 

This was particularly evident in joint assessments with the World Bank and EU, initially published at the end of March 2024.

IMPROVED LONGER-TERM RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE PLANNING

While immediate relief was crucial, these assessments also contributed to longer-term planning. They have been instrumental in informing broader food security analyses, such as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), particularly regarding vulnerable populations. 

FAO technical expert noted, 

The agricultural damage assessment results  were also largely used to inform the analysis for the different rounds of the IPC, and all of this, so the analysis on food insecurity is large famine in Gaza.

The monthly satellite-based monitoring of cropland and greenhouse damage enabled quantitative tracking of Gaza's declining agricultural production capacity, providing key metrics for food security projections. The IPC Acute Food Insecurity and Acute Malnutrition Special Snapshot (September 2024 - April 2025) reveals that 86 per cent of Gaza's analyzed population (1.84M people) are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity. The assessment findings help identify populations facing critical nutrition challenges, including an estimated 60,000 children aged 6-59 months expected to face acute malnutrition and 16,500 pregnant and breastfeeding women requiring treatment between September 2024 and August 2025.