The recent attempt by a flotilla of humanitarian aid ships to reach Gaza, and the violent response of the Israeli army, have served to highlight the worsening situation in the Gaza Strip.
According to a report published in March 2009 by the European Commission, the blockade imposed by the Israeli army since June 2007 has had a devastating effect on the area's economy, not least on the agricultural sector, French newspaper Le Figaro reported.
The report revealed that 46 per cent of agricultural land in Gaza was 'inaccessible'.
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, agricultural workers represented only 7.4 per cent of the active population in the fourth quarter of 2009, as opposed to 12.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2007.
In a recent report, the Palestine Trade Center (PalTrade) estimates that, without these restrictions by the Israeli army, farming exports from the Gaza Strip could represent 2,300 tonnes of raspberries, 55m cut flowers and 714 tonnes of cherry tomatoes each year.
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