Farmers demand more pay for tobacco harvest

Farmers in Lebanon have begun flocking to the fields to secure their primary source of income with the advent of the tobacco harvesting season. The tobacco plant, know to the local farmers as the “bitter plant soaked in sweat and blood”, is predominantly grown in south Lebanon where it represents the main source of in come for around 16,500 families. Almost 25,000 Lebanese families earn their living from the plant, working over 10 million square meters of land for an annual income for each family of about £1,400.

Farmer Hassan Nasser complained that tobacco growing was the job of “poor unemployed people,” adding that at the end of the day, all the hard work “doesn’t pay off.” Depending on quality, the price for each kilogram of tobacco produced ranges between LL1,000 and LL14,000. President of the Trade Union of Agriculture and Tobacco, Hassan Fakih is optimistic and predicts a bright future for the southern farmers. “The Lebanese tobacco authority is expected to purchase 16 new electric machines that will help the farmers and limit child labor,” he said.

The farmers in the south do not seem to be as optimistic about their future as Fakih. “All of our crops burned during the summer 2006 war [with Israel] and we still haven’t received any compensation from the government,” said Abdel-Amir Murani. Members of the same family usually work together to cultivate the tobacco plants and help with the harvest. Families find it difficult to cultivate any other type of crop considering the peculiar nature of the soil required for the tobacco plant.

Source: The Lebanon Daily Star, 28 July 2009
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