Contrary to Zionist propaganda, Palestinians were the backbone of agricultural production in the country. They cultivated and farmed the land to extract its resources. By the end of the British Mandate, the total area cultivated by Palestinian farmers, excluding citrus farms, was approximately 5,484,700 dunams, while the 300 Jewish colonies could only manage to cultivate around 425,450 dunams. These figures affirm that it was the Palestinians who cultivated the desert, not the Jews. The total land area in the Negev Desert under Jewish ownership did not exceed 11,000 dunams, whereas Palestinians planted grains (wheat and barley) in the same desert on an area exceeding 2.11 million dunams. (From the Ottoman period and through the early years of the British Mandate for Palestine, the size of a dunam was 919.3 square metres (9,895 sq ft), but in 1928, the metric dunam of 1,000 square metres (0.10 ha) was adopted, and this is still used.
Contrary to Zionist propaganda, Palestinians were the backbone of agricultural production in the country. They cultivated and farmed the land to extract its resources. By the end of the British Mandate, the total area cultivated by Palestinian farmers, excluding citrus farms, was approximately 5,484,700 dunams, while the 300 Jewish colonies could only manage to cultivate around 425,450 dunams
These figures affirm that it was the Palestinians who cultivated the desert, not the Jews. The total land area in the Negev Desert under Jewish ownership did not exceed 11,000 dunams, whereas Palestinians planted grains (wheat and barley) in the same desert on an area exceeding 2.11 million dunams. (From the Ottoman period and through the early years of the British Mandate for Palestine, the size of a dunam was 919.3 square metres (9,895 sq ft), but in 1928, the metric dunam of 1,000 square metres (0.10 ha) was adopted, and this is still used.)
Grains (wheat, barley, corn): Belonging to Palestinians, they cultivated 4,152,438 dunums out of a total of 4,367,628 dunums, producing these grains.
Bananas: Belonging to Palestinians, they cultivated 60% of the total banana production area.
Watermelons: Belonging to Palestinians, they cultivated 120,304 dunums out of 125,979 dunums.
Olives: Belonging to Palestinians, they cultivated 99% of the total area of 600,133 dunums.
Vegetables: Belonging to Palestinians, they cultivated 239,733 dunums out of 279,940 dunums.
Tobacco: Belonging to Palestinians, they cultivated 99% of the land used for tobacco production.