National Early Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza 2014-2017_FINAL

55Thereafter, Government will implement a series of interventions under the umbrella of an Agricultural Support Program (ASP). Theseinterventions will provide assistance to small farmers and households who have been affected by the assault on Gaza, including:1. Assistance to farmers who own or lease lands that have been affected by the Israeli assaults. Affected farmers will besupported by the provision of financing to procure needed greenhouse materials, water storage and drip irrigation systems,and seed/plant stock. To the extent possible, agricultural inputs should be procured locally to help restore Gaza industries.Repair or replacement of physical infrastructure of the agricultural sector will be needed.2. Assistance to farmers and households who have lost livestock. ASP will provide financial assistance for these farmers torehabilitate their livelihood assets; procure livestock and repair their farms.3. Assistance to fishermen to repair and/or replace their damaged equipment and boats.ASP will provide an important source of economic security to disadvantaged women and youth.4.3.2 Industry and ManufacturingRelief Early Recovery Reconstruction Total- $75m $284m $359mThe Government will work to support the industrial and manufacturing sector in rebuildingits capacity and strengthening its future productivity. All industrial firms reportingdamages will undergo a damage assessment that will certify the level of losses andeligibility for assistance.Compensation for production losses will be distributed as a first step in early recovery.Thereafter the Government will implement a series of interventions under the umbrella ofan Industrial Repair Program (IRP). These interventions will rapidly respond to the severedamage to the private sector and help jump-start the production cycle, including in thefood and construction sectors. These two industries are particularly critical. The foodindustry can help provide food security to Gazan citizens, whilst construction firms mustbe prepared to have an active role in the reconstruction efforts.To be eligible for assistance, firms will need to show proven track records of productionin the past, that they are economically viable, or have the potential to resume operationsonce equipment or physical infrastructure is restored.The program will provide financial grants to firms to assist them to:• Renovate and/or reconstruct destroyed business premises and facilities. Such premises have to be either owned by the applicant orleased for a minimum of one year from the application date.• Repair or replace equipment in damaged factories and firms that have lost their core production equipment.• Acquire office equipment, such as computers, telephones, fax machines, and furniture, to continue their operations.The implementation approach will stress the importance of job creation not only at the beneficiary level but at the suppliers and serviceproviders end as well. A cost-sharing mechanism by the firms will be encouraged.The Government is exploring options to support the relocation of destroyed factories to the GIE, pending the immediate repair ofdamaged infrastructure of the industrial estate. Preliminary analysis suggest that also scope for expanding the GIE by 50 percent toaccommodate these relocations.