800 million dollars in initial losses.. Minister of Agriculture reveals the extent of agricultural destruction in the South

Minister of Agriculture Nizar Hani addressed the impact of the war on agricultural lands and seasons in the South, revealing that "the percentage of damaged land is very high, reaching 22.5% of the total agricultural land in Lebanon."

He stated in an intervention via "Sputnik" radio: "In Lebanon, we have about 250,000 hectares of agricultural land, 54,000 hectares of which have been directly affected by this war. This is an unprecedented area, and it has a direct impact on farmers, people's lives, food security, and the economy in general."

Regarding the plans proposed to deal with this issue, Hani explained that "the Ministry updates information weekly and publishes it twice a month to be clear to all agricultural partners in Lebanon and local and international partner institutions, in preparation for the rehabilitation of the sector. Some support has started reaching farmers because, despite all this destruction and major attacks, 20% of farmers are in South Litani, and therefore we are trying to secure the necessary support for them to remain resilient, especially livestock breeders."

He revealed that "the loss in the olive sector in South Lebanon is very significant," noting that "an assessment conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture in cooperation with FAO and the World Bank estimated agricultural damages at 800 million dollars for the previous war, meaning by the end of 2024. Part of these are short-term damages, but the larger part consists of long-term damages such as the loss of an olive tree fifty years old or more."

Hani affirmed that "some weapons rely on white phosphorus, which severely affects forest wealth, agriculture, and vegetation in general, and its impact remains in the soil," emphasizing that "fruit trees are important for Lebanese markets and Lebanese food security, in addition to the markets of neighboring countries, therefore the war has affected these markets."

Regarding the tobacco sector, he explained that "the situation is difficult; we have about 1600 plots of land that used to be cultivated with tobacco but were directly affected by the war. This has a direct impact on families, farmers, and the economy in Lebanon, because tobacco is an important commodity used by Regie to produce tobacco, which has a good economic return."