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BEIRUT: The deputy director-general of the UN\u2019s Food and Agriculture Organization told AFP on Thursday that she was \u201cdeeply concerned\u201d about the impact of the latest Israel-Hezbollah conflict on agriculture in south Lebanon.<\/p>\n
The latest war \u201cputs additional pressure on farmers and rural communities that, frankly, were already facing considerable hardships\u201d, said the FAO\u2019s Beth Bechdol.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re deeply concerned\u201d about the situation in south Lebanon, where agriculture is \u201cat the heart\u201d of livelihoods, she said in an interview in Beirut.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is our best assessment that 56,000 hectares, which is more than 22 percent of Lebanon\u2019s agricultural land, has been reported as affected or damaged,\u201d including burned or physically damaged, she said.<\/p>\n
The Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March by attacking Israel, which responded with massive airstrikes and a ground invasion that Lebanon says have killed more than 4,300 people.<\/p>\n
The conflict came after hostilities that erupted in 2023 and all-out war the following year.<\/p>\n
While the latest violence has decreased since a June ceasefire, hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced, mainly from the south, and Israel maintains troops in a self-declared \u201csecurity zone\u201d running around 10 kilometres (six miles) deep inside Lebanon along the border.<\/p>\n
Israeli forces have been carrying out widespread demolitions affecting villages and farmland.<\/p>\n
\u201cFarmers and their families are no longer able to be connected to their agricultural land,\u201d Bechdol said, noting that the conflict has also \u201cdisrupted markets and reduced access\u201d to essentials for food production including fertilisers.<\/p>\n
In June, a UN-backed assessment from Lebanese authorities estimated agricultural production losses in south Lebanon this year had reached at least $530 million.<\/p>\n
Bechdol also expressed concern about potential contamination and soil damage in south Lebanon due to unexploded ordnance and residues from military operations.<\/p>\n
She said she had held discussions in recent days on the possibility of the FAO getting involved in partnerships on de-mining work in south Lebanon.<\/p>\n
She also said she was \u201cvery concerned about just general food security levels\u201d in Lebanon.<\/p>\n
In April, a UN-backed report said more than 1.2 million people in Lebanon were expected to face acute hunger in the following months due to the latest war.<\/p>\n
This week, UNICEF said four in five households in Lebanon \u201care struggling to afford basic necessities as conflict compounds years of economic crisis\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n