Lebanese farmers benefit from storm at beginning of year

Lebanese farmers said they have benefitted from the storm that hit Lebanon at the beginning of this year.

"The storm did not cause big harm. To the contrary, we benefitted from it," Ibrahim Tarshishi, head of the Farmers' Syndicate in Bekaa, told Xinhua.

Tarshishi said that farmers now have plenty of water that they can use to irrigate their farms.

"Also, the heavy rain washes pesticides away from the soil while snow heals trees diseases and kills insects," he said.

A big storm, dubbed "Norma," swept Lebanon at the beginning of January, causing heavy damage in several areas of the country.

Due to the heavy rainfall and strong winds, a number of trees collapsed in the Kfar Shuba neighborhood on the Mieh Mieh road in east Sidon.

In Jezzine, towns braced themselves for the storm as the mountains facing the governorate witnessed snowfall at an altitude of 1,400 meters.

The heavy rainfall caused floods in several areas including Batroun.

Anwar Fakhri, head of the Syndicate of Farmers' Association in Bsharri, reiterated Tarshishi's remarks by saying that farmers have benefitted from extra water for irrigation.

"We were very happy to witness this much snow like in old days which helps in killing insects and cleaning the soil," he said.

Antoine Howayek, head of the Lebanese Farmers' Association, said that the storm definitely had positive repercussions for farmers but it has also caused some damage.

"The citrus and banana produce were destroyed for instance in some areas in Akkar and in south Lebanon," he said, adding that lemons fell from trees as well.

Howayek also said that the government does not have a mechanism to compensate farmers for their losses.