The Parliamentary Commission in favor of supporting small farmers hit by natural disasters

The Parliamentary Commission for Agriculture and Tourism held yesterday a meeting yesterday which was headed by MP Ayoob 7hmayyed.  The Commission focused on reviewing the extent of the damages incurred by the storm during the past two weeks.  The Commission was in agreement over the necessity to support the agricultural solidarity fund to enable it to compensate farmers who suffer from natural disasters.  By the end of the meeting, MP 7hmayyed declared that an agreement was reached to support small farmers through agricultural extension as well as improving their export potentials.  The Minister of Agriculture, Akram Chehayeb, noted for his part that the Cabinet and the Ministry do not have currently the financial means to compensate all farmers but are able nevertheless to support small farmers who live from one season to another and are committed to bank loans and various debts.  As such, the livelihoods of small farmers are heavily dependent on the kind of support that the state will provide them with.

(Source: Al-Diyar & As-Safir 27 January, 2015)