BEIRUT, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Agriculture Minister Nizar Hani said on Friday that Israeli attacks have caused more than 1 billion U.S. dollars in losses to Lebanon's agricultural sector, with nearly a quarter of the country's agricultural land damaged.
"The agricultural sector was among the hardest hit," Hani said during a visit to the southern Nabatieh Governorate, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.
He said around 22.5 percent of Lebanon's agricultural land, or about 56,000 hectares, had been damaged.
Preliminary assessments, conducted with Lebanon's National Council for Scientific Research and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, had raised estimates of agricultural losses and damage to more than 1 billion dollars, up from about 800 million dollars estimated by the end of 2024, he added.
Hani said the ministry's priority is direct support to farmers through cash and labor assistance, noting that olive groves, plastic greenhouses, and beehives were among the hardest-hit sectors.
The minister announced the launch of projects to rehabilitate 1,500 greenhouses in affected areas, as well as 50 solar-powered water wells to help restore agricultural activity.
