Agriculture Minister Nizar Hani opened Hermel’s annual Agricultural Exhibition and Olive Festival and inaugurated a new agricultural services center there, while putting hard numbers on the war’s toll: 22.5% of Lebanon’s farming sector damaged, hitting nearly 56,000 hectares, according to Hani. The visit, attended by MP Ihab Hamadeh and Hermel mayor Ali Hassan Taha, also included the opening of the Hermel Municipalities Union’s Agricultural Development Services Center.
Hermel’s Olive Festival Opens With a Call to Back Local Produce
Mayor Ali Hassan Taha told attendees the exhibition “is a space to celebrate the land, honor farmers and highlight the city’s agricultural and heritage identity,” and stressed the importance of supporting local products and boosting their marketing. He also called for activating the agricultural research service and easing soil testing to help farmers improve production.
Hani said the Ministry of Agriculture is working to support farmers and activate service and agricultural research centers. He noted Lebanon has about 60,000 hectares planted in olives and expects output of 200,000 tons of olives this year, stressing the need to develop the value chain from production and storage to marketing and export.
Hani also highlighted fish farming, citing the gap between local production and imports, and said the ministry places support for agriculture in Hermel and rural areas among its priorities.
Did You Know? Lebanon Debate reports that Hani compared the toll to the Russia-Ukraine war, which he said affected about 8% of Ukraine’s agriculture, versus more than 22% in Lebanon.
Hamadeh Ties the Olive to Resilience and Presses Stalled Projects
MP Ihab Hamadeh told the festival that celebrating the olive is “a celebration of the land, the holy places, life and steadfastness,” adding that Hermel’s olives and oil “carry a story of resilience rooted in the land.” He said: “The olive is not just a tree or an agricultural product but a symbol of steadfastness and belonging, and a source of giving and production.”
Hamadeh also invoked the religious and historical weight of the olive, noting that some Quran commentators link it in Surat At-Tin to the Holy Land and its surroundings. He said Hermel has the agricultural capacity to supply Lebanon and the region with products ranging from olives and oil to fruit, wheat and fish.
Israeli occupation attacks have damaged around 22.5% of Lebanon’s agricultural land, equivalent to approximately 56,000 hectares, Agriculture Minister Nizar Hani told Anadolu Agency on November 2. ￭ Around 52,000 hectares of affected land are in the south and Nabatieh… pic.twitter.com/q9xO08cOKT
He criticized development projects that keep stalling as they pass between governments.
Aquaculture Law Praised as Fish Output Gap Laid Bare
Hamadeh praised Parliament’s passage of the aquaculture and fishing law, calling it strategic for the economic prospects it opens, and thanked Hani for his work on the file. Studies he cited put the Asi River’s fish production capacity at more than 20,000 tons, against current output of about 2,000 tons — a gap that, he said, could strengthen the local economy and create major production opportunities if tapped.
Lebanon Debate reports Hani put national fish output at only about 2,500 tons a year, against imports of roughly 15,000 tons, underscoring the gap the local sector could help close.
Elnashra reports Hani has raised the damage figures with the FAO and other international bodies, framing the sector’s losses as an attack on hundreds of thousands of families and a pillar of the national economy, while saying about 30% of Lebanese are tied to farming full- or part-time.
Tour Covers Al-Qasr Center, Feed Factory and a Rural Development Study
Hani's tour also included inaugurating the ministry's Al-Qasr Agricultural Center and visiting the Netfeed feed factory in Housh al-Sayyed Ali.
Elnashra reports Hani launched a campaign this week to support olives and olive oil, modeled on an earlier campaign backing Lebanese apples, and reassured attendees there is no contamination in olive oil and that the war left no impact on olive and oil quality in the South.
Clarifying War’s Impact on Agriculture
How much farmland did the war damage in Lebanon?
Hani said the war damaged about 22.5% of the agricultural sector, affecting nearly 56,000 hectares.
What is Lebanon’s expected olive production this year?
Hani expects about 200,000 tons of olives this year from roughly 60,000 hectares of olive groves nationwide. Hermel itself has about 2,000 hectares, rising to around 4,000 when Baalbek is included, according to Elnashra and Lebanon Debate.
Why is the aquaculture law considered important?
Hamadeh described it as strategic because the Asi River’s fish production capacity exceeds 20,000 tons while current output is only about 2,000 tons; Lebanon Debate adds that national fish production is about 2,500 tons a year against 15,000 tons imported.
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