Distillation plant helps out horticulturalists

20 March 2008

MAGHDOUCHE: Spring in the Southern region of Maghdouche is marked this year by the opening of a modern distillation plant for lemon and rose flowers, enabling cultivators to sell their production more easily. The plant was established by the Hariri Foundation and financed by the US Agency for International Development. It is managed by the cooperative of lemon flowers and agricultural products in Maghdouche.

"The agriculture of lemon flowers started in Maghdouche about 100 years ago, along with the distillation of rose water," Youssef Sader, head of the cooperative, told The Daily Star on Wednesday.

According to Sader, owners of agricultural fields start harvesting their plants as of the beginning of March.

"They employ a number of workers who usually pick around 10 kilograms of flowers a day, with a fee reaching LL20,000," he explained.

"Then, lemon flowers are sifted and transported to a sales center that is affiliated with the cooperative. There, the harvest can be sold directly to customers or sent to the distillation plant," he added. "We can extract 600 milliliters of rose water out of each kilogram of the flower."

Sader said Maghdouche's production of lemon flowers exceeded 100 tons per year.

"With the hike in production, we have faced a problem in selling it out until the Hariri Foundation drew the project of a distillation plant," he said. "We have marketed around 30,000 bottles of rose water since the plant started operating two weeks ago."

Sader said their work aimed to preserve the economic conditions of farmers, while providing them with easier means to sell out their production.

"Every participant in this field gets his right, including the farmer, trader, worker and business owner," he added.