Potato growers in Central Beqaa, Rashayya demand new external markets

Following the appeal of the agriculture specialist, Bilal Zoghbi, in the name of potato growers in Beqaa, emergency assistance, (c.f:  http://bit.ly/2a1og2t), Al Mustaqbal newspaper highlighted in its edition of today, the continuing economic distress of potato growers in Rashayya and Central Beqaa, while interviewing a number of farmers, who reiterated their call for government’s support to this sector, that is considered the pillar of agriculture in the area. The president of potato growers in Beqaa, George Saqr, grieved the persisting difficulties in marketing the production, with the additional cost of maritime export, notwithstanding the limited official backing in subsidizing maritime transport . Saqr clarified that while the level of local market consumption is acceptable, selling prices do not match the cost of production. He called on concerned official bodies to rescue thousands of households whose livelihoods depend on this trade. Najeeb Fares, a Beqaa farmer and owner of an agriculture project in the town of Lucy, maintained that potato cultivators have suffered a major setback due to the low price of the crop, (LBP 300 per one kg while cost exceeds LBP 450). Fares acknowledged that the domestic market cannot absorb the whole local production, while also noting that Arab Gulf countries are flooded with supply of potatoes. Fares called on the government to seek to new outlets, particularly since farmers are presently burdened with financial debts that have accumulated over the years. In conclusion his brother, also a potato farmer, ironically compared the price of a chewing gum (LBP 500) to the price of one kg of potato (LBP 300) that feeds an entire family. (Al Mustaqbal, July 28, 2016)