Climate and illegal competition adversely affect strawberry growing in Akkar

Strawberry growers in the northern villages and towns of Akkar voiced their strong concerns about the serious difficulties in marketing their production, particularly given the lack of border control and poor measures to protect domestic production from illegal foreign competition. Farmers pointed out to the fact that nearly 40 to 50 tons of imported strawberry, mainly from Syria, is smuggled into Akkar each day, hence flooding the Lebanese markets and causing considerable losses. What is noticeable is that the problem repeats itself with every season thus raising serious questions on the role of the Ministry of Agriculture in protecting local production and in enforcing the agreed agricultural calendar. Furthermore, farmers noted the failure of the Ministry in securing sustainable markets for domestic production so as to support farmers in stead-fasting on their land. Farmers in the towns of Koley3at, Al Mas3udieh, Balanet al H7aisa, Al H7aisa and Tel Abbas indicated that the total cultivated area of strawberry has recently shrunk to 90 hectares from 120 hectares as greenhouse farmers substituted strawberry with various kinds of herbs and vegetables. Furthermore, strawberry farmers noted the harvest delay this year which is mainly due to the successive waves of storms and frost that battered the buds. One farmer, Yasser Halabi, explained that he used “to pick the strawberries starting January and February of every year, unlike this year where he had to wait until the current month of March, which resulted in significant financial losses.” He further clarified that he normally sells his harvest early on before the arrival of imported strawberry. This year he said “I was forced to sell one kilogram of strawberry at the cost of production of LBP3000, because imported strawberry was being offered on the streets at less than LBP2000”. Muhammad Suleiman, another strawberry grower, commenting on the bad situation, noted that Lebanese strawberry was normally exported to the Arab Gulf states, but the delay in the harvest this year forced many exporters to search for new markets. On the same subject, Safadi Foundation signed an agricultural cooperation agreement with the US Land O’Lakes organization by which the American organisation will recruit and second to the Foundation an American agronomist, specialised in advanced and traditional cultivation of strawberry, and in order to provide technical assistance to local farmers. (As Safir, 16 March 2015)