The farmers hoed and plowed the soil, preparing to receive seedlings from CNEWA-Pontifical Mission and other organizations. More than two years of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah have strained their resources.
“All these farmers need support. Without support, they cannot do anything,” says Elias Messan, a farmer in Jezzine, Lebanon.
Michel Constantin, director of the regional office of Catholic Near East Welfare Association-Pontifical Mission in Beirut, explains that “the economic return from these seedlings is certainly much higher than emergency assistance in the form of ready-made food that people can consume.”
He said farmers “will use part of it for their own needs, and they will sell another part and benefit from the income, so they can send their children to school and support the limited income they currently have.”
In Bislaya, Lebanon, several farmers spoke as shelling was ongoing.
“No matter what hardships we face here, we will not leave our village,” said farmer Georges Makhoul.
Watch the video by Raghida Skaff.
Read more about how Lebanese are trying to maintain their land during war in Season of Creation: Fire and Herbicides as Weapons.