Al -Jazeera Net Correspondents
Beirut– Ibrahim Issa, who owns 34 cows on his developed farm in Ainata, in the district of Bint Jbeil, was able to come out 18 of them under the fire of the Israeli bombing, and he remained 16 others, he could not take it out, so he had to risk his life to launch it from the herbs of the earth, saying, “Forgive me this is all that I was able to do for you, go back to the wilderness and manage you.”
Great damage
With the deterioration of the security situation in southern Lebanon after last September, when the Israel war intensified and expanded, the factory that received the milk from Issa’s farm was forced to close its doors after the displacement of his workers, which led him to throw milk daily in the wilderness, so there is no factory from which he received milk, which caused his farm heavy economic losses.
Issa asserts in an interview with Al -Jazeera Net that every war period was paying the price of feed and care from its budget, because the farm no longer generates money because of the dairy factories, and says, “Imagine that I throw milk daily for long periods, and I treat cows, fed them and transfer them, all of this is from my budget, except for the accumulation of debts on me for the feed sellers, and I do not forget that I sold a number To believe in my family’s food at low prices. “
And Issa remained 8 cows that returned to his farm in Mays Al -Jabal, through which he tried to start again in his dream of creating a large farm, to be a support for him and his brother in this geographical spot that Israel burned and tried to execute life in it, but he confirms that the return is almost impossible if no one compensates him.
Issa does not hide his fear that he will not be compensated, as happened with farmers and farm owners after the July 2006 war, stressing that this war is very different, and the lack of compensation for farmers and farmers, and the pamphlets will leave a big problem, as if the message is that “Go from this land, you have no place on it.”
Destruction of chicken farms
For his part, Ahmed Qarout says that his farm included 40 thousand chickens, and 1,200 white chickens, in addition to 15 dairy cows, and this farm secured the livelihood of 4 families and a number of workers inside it, as it was returning with a good return after selling production in the local market from the south to Sidon to the capital Beirut.
Ahmed did not leave his farm during the period of the war of chain of transmission, but with the intensification of the bombing, he was forced to leave it, and he could only come out of the cows, while the broiler chicken was sold part of it at low prices, and what remains of them and from the white chicken remained inside the farm, all of them died due to hunger and destruction, and it confirms that the Israeli occupation army when he reached his farm worked on its shelf, and destroyed the feed factory.
The citizen does not hide his desire to practice the work of the farm despite the heavy losses, but he confirms, while he is sitting in front of it, that it is impossible to return if the state is not next to him and says, “We need to support the Ministry of Agriculture, and we attach hopes to the state and the charitable bodies and associations, so the stay of people in this region depends on the support they will receive, and if the farmer and the treasures do not return its activity here, no one will remain here.”
Sheep farms and goats
Ghassan Al -Hajj, the owner of a farm for sheep and goats, says that it had more than 500 heads in addition to 35 cows, supporting 5 families, and produces daily 5 tons of milk that behaves their production to the Bekaa laboratories. Al -Hajj remained every war period and did not leave his farm, and with the intensification of the bombing and the expansion of the war, he remained 22 days, and he had been subjected to a raid from a march that miraculously survived.
He notes that he tried to take out his large herd, but the dense raids prevented this, and he says, “I tried in various ways to save the herd, but to no avail, I found that it is more useful to let them get off in the wilderness, and there the herbs eaten and managed to it, and I had hope to return and threw the herd again here, but after my return I found only a few goats and 4 cows, and I found the bones All parts of the farm.
Hajj losses are not less than 300 thousand dollars, except for his destroyed house as well, and his trucks and graves in which he was working, and he says, “We remained here throughout the war and we risked our lives because we belong to this land, and I am ready to resume the expansion of the farm, but this is impossible if the state does not pay attention to us and our losses are compensated, as well as international bodies and associations, so we are a year and a half for a year. Hundreds of dollars and spend live meat. “
Initial compensation
The initial report was issued to determine the damages and needs resulting from the Israeli war on Lebanon – which was prepared by the World Bank and the National Council for Scientific Research – stressing that the damage to the livestock amounted to 11 million dollars, including the death of about 3 million chickens, and about 10 thousand square meters of poultry farms.
Lebanese Minister of Agriculture Nizar Hani – in an interview with Al -Jazeera Net – says that the report was prepared using modern technologies, and the Ministry of Agriculture will take data to 350 towns who were subjected to direct Israeli attacks, and the ministry employees will go as soon as possible to these areas, in order to ensure these results with the help of municipalities, and this disclosure will be very accurate because it is on the ground, especially in terms of detection on livestock and poultry farms Bee and others.
On the concerns of the owners of farms in terms of depriving them of compensation, Hani confirms that compensation for agricultural damage is an integral part of the issue of reconstruction, but this funds are not present at the present time with the state or the Ministry of Agriculture, but after counting the damage and making sure of the survey, the second stage comes, which is to secure the funds for these compensation, the agricultural sector is one of 9 sectors that were evaluated by reporting the damage.
Hani stresses that the agricultural sector must come in the priority ladder in the compensation file because by comparing this sector with other sectors it is clear that it is the least costly, and therefore it must be given priority because it is linked to food security and securing materials for the Lebanese market, because the land of the south and its crops are relied upon in the local market.
