Farmers harvesting in northern Lebanon. (Credit: João Sousa)
BEIRUT — In a move to combat smuggling and fraud in the dairy industry, the Agriculture Ministry announced on Monday a comprehensive survey of cow farms, cheese factories and dairy production facilities across the northern Bekaa region.
The ministry made the announcement in a statement, saying the survey will be conducted "in coordination with the army command and the technical teams affiliated with the ministry in the Baalbek-Hermel Agriculture Department."
The areas the survey will cover include "the town of al-Qaa, al-Mashari, Hosh al-Sayyed Ali and al-Qasr, reaching the city of Hermel."
The goal of this campaign is "to preserve livestock, protect Lebanese farmers and breeders, and ensure food safety and public health for all Lebanese citizens," the ministry stated.
The ministry also stressed its work to combat the smuggling of fruits and vegetables to safeguard domestic agricultural production and the sector as a whole. Farmers, producers, and factory owners across the region have been called upon to cooperate fully with the inspection teams.
On July 25, the ministry warned against “the danger of the multiplication of large-scale smuggling operations through which agricultural products and fresh milk are brought into Lebanon.”
No details were on the provenance of these products or indications of increased smuggling by land, bearing in mind that it can only come from neighboring Syria, the only country with which Lebanon shares open borders.
These borders are notoriously porous, and smuggling has been rife for many years, especially since the onset of the economic crisis in Lebanon in 2019.
According to a 2020 case study by the American University of Beirut's Issam Fares Institute, Lebanon's agricultural sector harbors informal employment, especially for Syrian refugees. A 2012 assessment found that 20 percent of refugee families worked in agriculture, and this has likely increased. However, the agriculture sector operates in a "legally informal" state, with no sector-specific policies since the Fouad Chehab era.