Israel's Flower Growers Association has proposed to the Ministry of Agriculture a detailed and practical plan to transfer all the greenhouses in the Israeli settlements in the Gaza Region, which cover an area of 100 hectares, and valued at NIS10 million (US$2.22m), to new areas within the "Green Line" in Israel.

According to Haim Haddad, secretary general of the Association, the cost involved in the transfer of the greenhouses, most of them containing sophisticated equipment, "will not exceed NIS2m" (US$440,000). The transfer of the greenhouses will enable farmers to continue growing vegetables, fresh herbs and flowers for export, "whereas leaving them in the evacuated areas will cause heavy financial losses to the framers," he said.

Haddad said that the Association, being an apolitical organisation, represents Jewish and Arab growers, noting that the plan to transfer the greenhouses is based on a humanitarian and professional aspects that will give an answer to the agricultural production issue in the region. Nearly 80 per cent of the produce grown in the greenhouses is slated for export.

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