Israeli Strikes Devastate 22 Percent of Lebanon's Farmland

(MENAFN) Lebanon's Agriculture Ministry revealed Saturday that Israeli military strikes have devastated roughly 22% of the country's cultivated land since hostilities intensified on March 2, marking the ministry's first weekly damage assessment since the escalation.

According to the report, approximately 46,479 hectares of agricultural land — equivalent to nearly one-quarter of Lebanon's total cultivated areas — have been rendered unusable amid the ongoing offensive.

The hardest-hit zones remain concentrated in the South and Nabatieh governorates, where 44,297 hectares have been affected. The remaining 2,181 hectares of damage spans other regions across the country.

Among the sectors sustaining the heaviest losses are fruit orchards, centuries-old olive groves, greenhouse operations, and small- to medium-scale farming enterprises — the backbone of Lebanon's rural economy.

The ministry's assessment sounded a stark alarm over worsening food security, warning that mass displacement is compounding the crisis by disrupting agricultural cycles and draining the farming workforce at a critical time.

Beyond cropland, the toll on Lebanon's broader food production system has been severe. The report documented the destruction of nearly half the country's beehives — 49% — alongside a 39% collapse in fish stocks. Cattle, sheep, and poultry sectors have also recorded significant, though varying, losses.

The findings paint an increasingly dire picture of Lebanon's agricultural sector, with long-term recovery prospects clouded by the unrelenting pace of the strikes.

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