15 December 2010
BEIRUT: The heavy storm which hit Lebanon over the weekend wreaked havoc and destruction on the agriculture and fishing industries, with hundreds of families calling on the government to compensate them for their losses.
The tempest also put some power plants of service at least temporarily, as Electricite du Liban’s technicians worked in extremely difficult weather conditions to restore power to some areas.
Hundreds of greenhouses throughout the Bekka Valley, Akkar and other parts of the country were totally or partially destroyed after they were hit by the storm.
Farmers also complain that they lost large quantities of banana and avocado crops that are grown along the coast south of Beirut.
No official figures were released yet on the actual cost of the losses but it is widely believed that the next storm will inflict heavier damages if no action is taken immediately.
Fishermen also had their share of losses from the storm as hundreds of small boats were crushed by the high tidal waves that hit Lebanese ports.
The government, which has been paralyzed by issues such as the “false witnesses” file concerning the UN-backed probe into former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination, is unlikely to adopt quick measures to compensate the losses of farmers and fishermen.
Anotoine Howaiek, president of the farmers syndicate, told The Daily Star that greenhouses, bananas and citrus took the brunt of damages in the storm.
“I can say that the blizzards have wiped out nearly 20 percent of Lebanon’s citrus sector and banana crops saw a similar fate. This scenario is always repeated in every storm that hits the country. We just wait for the weather to wash away our crops and there is nothing we can do about it,” Howaiek said bitterly.
He added that initial reports show that some farmers lost all of their crops in one blow while others sustained fewer material damages.
The entire Lebanese agriculture sector is valued at less than $1.2 billion annually and part of this produce is exported to Arab states and some European countries.
Lebanon’s agriculture industry represent 5.1 percent of the country’s GDP, although experts say that close to 30 percent of the population earn their living from the sector.
Howaiek said the storm washed away dozens of tents that housed grapes in some parts of the country.
He stressed that farmers do not have the means to brace for any bad weather.
“We want the government to survey the damages and compensate the farmers for their huge losses,” Howaiek said.
Howaiek added in some instances the government is too reluctant to provide assistance to farmers unless the disaster wreaks nationwide destruction.
“In 2008 for example the government at that time decided to compensate the farmers after one of the worst storms to hit Lebanon in many years. But the security events in May of that year delayed this assistance and farmers had to adapt to their losses,” Howaiek said.
Howaiek did not pin much faith on any future government assistance.
“They [politicians] only provide small assistance to farmers before the elections and to win votes,” he said.
Howaiek and other farmers emphasize that they could do without the assistance if joint public and private insurance firms dedicated were created for farmers.
“This insurance company which we have proposed was sent to the Parliament for approval in 2005 but it has been sitting on the shelves since then,” he said.
He argued that this proposal would be the best way to protect the farmers from any future natural disaster and anything less than that would be a waste of time.
He added that banks are reluctant to provide loans to farmers because they believe that agriculture is too risky,
“That’s why we should have an insurance firm for farmers,” he repeated.
Copyright The Daily Star 2010.
