Campaign launched by the Minister of Agriculture, Nizar Hani, to support potato farmers. (Credit: Ministry of Agriculture)
BEIRUT — The Minister of Agriculture, Nizar Hani, launched on Wednesday a campaign to support potato farmers under the slogan “20 kg of potatoes can help," according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA).
The campaign was launched in cooperation with the Ministry of Information and the potato farmers’ unions in the Bekaa and Akkar. It was attended by the representative of the Minister of Information, his media advisor Michel Daoud, the Director-General of the Ministry of Agriculture Louis Lahoud, the Minister’s advisor Fadi Ghanem, union heads, and factory representatives.
"This campaign carries a deeply human message before being economic or seasonal," Hani said. "We gather to tell the Lebanese farmer that he is not alone, and that the state, in all its institutions, and society in all its components, stand with him during this critical phase the agricultural sector is going through.
"Today, we meet while more than 40,000 tons of potatoes sit stocked in cold storage; potatoes the farmer worked hard to plant, irrigate and harvest, hoping to see them in markets and Lebanese households, not trapped in warehouses. These are tons of effort, hope and sweat, invested despite the difficult circumstances, economic pressures and rising costs," the minister added.
The minister noted that alongside this campaign, the Ministry of Agriculture is working on addressing the root causes of the problem through a comprehensive plan based on regulating production, cultivating only the quantity Lebanon needs, improving quality and focusing on varieties suitable for food processing, expanding contract farming with factories and adopting a proper crop rotation system.
He emphasized that “these measures pave the way for sustainable solutions, but the decisive factor today is that Lebanese people stand by their farmers.
“Buying 20 kgs of potatoes may seem like a small detail, but it can actually save an entire season from loss and restore the farmer’s trust in his country and his land," he noted.
Hani also provided media outlets with a copy of a short promotional film dedicated to the campaign, which highlights the importance of supporting farmers and consuming local products.
Farmers faced many challenges in recent years, including the exceptionally dry winter last season, last year's war between Hezbollah and Israel and Saudi Arabia's suspension of the import of fruits and vegetables from Lebanon starting in April 2021, following the discovery of more than five million Captagon pills hidden in inbound Lebanese fruit.
