Since October 7, extensive agricultural areas in Israel have been used for military activities, including the movement of tanks and other military vehicles, earthworks and more. As a result of this activity, severe damage has occurred to the soil structure and fertility, to the agricultural crop's growth capacity in the quality and quantity of the crop in the short and long term. In addition, in fields where access is limited due to the war, the required treatments and processing in the field and growing season are not carried out, and sometimes the following season goes down the drain as well.

In recent months, the Soil Conservation Division of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has been mapping soil damage in agricultural fields in order to document the types of damage and their degree of severity, as well as to assist farmers in their recovery. The damage mapping is performed by the company's experts and is uploaded to a dedicated layer in the company's geographic information system (GIS). So far, damage to agricultural areas worth more than 100,000 dunams has been located and mapped, mainly to field crops.

Based on the experience gained in previous wars and the mapping of the damage they caused, the Ministry formulated, in cooperation with farmers, recommendations to address the various damages, depending on their degree of severity. The basic step required before restoration begins is a thorough clearing of contamination risks to reduce damage to processing tools and agricultural products. The restoration recommendations mainly concern the way of cultivating the soil, adding quality organic material, adapting restoration operations to the season, timing in relation to the crop cycle and cropping plans in each field, as well as an estimate of the time required for soil restoration.

The Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security explains that land restoration is an ongoing and necessary process to restore land to optimal agricultural use and mapping is intended to serve as a professional tool for its implementation. For the benefit of land restoration and as part of assistance to farmers, the Ministry publishes a protocol for the treatment and assessment of a preliminary estimate of the extent of damage on each plot, with reference to the type of damage, the degree of damage and the actions required for restoration according to the type of soil and the crop cycle. Restoration can only begin when military use of the fields ends.

The Ministry of Agriculture explains that any plot that is damaged by military use and the passage of a heavy armored military vehicle, especially on wet ground, will require a separate and special reference to the assessment of damage and the estimate of specific rehabilitation operations. In areas that have already been returned to farmers during the winter or spring planting season, the required restoration will be postponed to be carried out in the dry season and in accordance with the restoration of the soil.

The form and time of carrying out the operations required on each plot will be adapted to the type of soil, the season and the crop cycle. Restoring soil from damage caused by compaction and erosion, after carrying out the necessary actions and until it returns to its original state, will take several years during which a decrease in crops and their quality is expected. The ministry also emphasizes that the cost estimate for restoration focuses on the six types of damage below, but does not include the cost of restoring additional damage to the land.

According to the calculation of the costs of the actions recommended in the protocol, the cost of initial land restoration ranges from 1,000 to 2,000 Israeli shekels (between 247.95 and 495.90 euros) per dunam (1,000 m2) and, in some cases, up to 3,000 NIS (743.79 euros), depending on the severity of the damage. Added to this cost are the costs of repairing drainage infrastructure, initial land preparation, compensation for crop loss in the years until full restoration.

The program includes details on six main types of damage, including: manual clearing of waste from burial sites and damage to the transfer of remaining waste to agricultural tools and the harvested crop, removal of contaminated soil and waste, construction on fields, local rehabilitation of excavations, rehabilitation of canals and drainage systems, rehabilitation of access roads and field edges, rehabilitation of damage to the planned crop cycle, dispersion of contaminated soil and waste, and rehabilitation of damage to the planned crop cycle, dispersion of organic material and seeds after cleaning and estimation of crop yield reduction. The cost estimate for restoration per acre is estimated at 50 NIS. The required treatment includes cleaning with the field collector, an agricultural work tool designed to process the top layer of soil, as well as local replacement of contaminated soil.

- Compaction, cutting of soil damaged by soil compaction, respecting its ability to absorb new growth: damage can range from light damage (soil compaction up to 20 cm deep), medium (soil compaction up to 70 cm deep), heavy (compaction in wet areas at the transition of heavy tools and creation of dents) and long-lasting (damage to the fixation after restoration). Estimated costs per acre range from 240 to 280 NIS and the soil recovery period up to 5 years. The required treatment includes tilling the field with a tiller, at shallow and medium to deep depths. After milling work, the soil must be ploughed in the dry season.

- Soil erosion, dust formation (a lot of dust) and destruction of the upper soil structure: damage caused by driving light vehicles. Estimated costs per dunam are estimated between NIS 140 for minor damage and NIS 1,710 per dunam for severe damage. The land recovery period is estimated at up to 5 years. Required treatment includes clearing the area, leveling it and preparing it for sowing. Sowing “green manure” of legumes or grain or another mixture depending on the season and soil type. The amount of seed to be spread will be in accordance with a standard commercial seedbed. After fixing damage, manure must be spread and the area prepared for sowing.

- Excavations: Excavations and depressions covered unevenly. Estimated recovery period between 10 and 12 years, depending on the extent of the damage. The required treatment consists of levelling the soil surface, processing the top layer of soil with a tiller and preparing the area for sowing.

- Damage to infrastructure and drainage: blockage of a drainage channel in an agricultural area, trampling of a waterway at the connecting junctions between drainage infrastructure and roads. Rehabilitation will be carried out in cooperation with the drainage authority. The required treatment is the opening of blockages with a shovel, tidying up the channel and removing unnecessary material, or total rehabilitation of the road surface by shovel, grader, baler and tanks.

- Damage to the field structure and surface and creating drainage and soil erosion problems in the field. The estimate will be in accordance with the measurement and plan contained in the area. The required treatment includes restoring the situation to its original state: field preparation, processing of the ground surface, topography correction and deep processing.

The Deputy Director of Environmental Resource Management at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. David Assaf, said: “Conserving and restoring land is important and essential in normal times and especially during emergencies. Our role is to ensure that the land is fertile, and will allow agricultural crops to be grown for the sake of food security. At this time, we must also strengthen farmers and rehabilitate lands that are possible, as a result of war damage, for the benefit of continuing activity and maintaining functional continuity.”