High time for poultry producers to stage their protest

Similar to the fate of other agricultural sectors (apple growers, wheat and dairy farmers..) owners of poultry farms in the regions of Hasbayya, Marjayoon, Bent Jbeil and Tyre staged a sit-in last Saturday blocking the road of Khardali linking Marjayoon with Nabatiyeh to protest losses incurred on them over a year now as a result of the government's irresponsible stand. Another reason for the unfolding dissent, is the fierce competition from the frozen chicken imported from Brazil or that smuggled from neighboring Syria, which have led to the reduction of the prices below the cost of production. To recall, the minister of agriculture issued last month a directive enforcing a prior license from the minister himself to import all frozen poultry around the year. During the rally, poultry farmers who hoisted banners demanding official support and protection to the sector, blocked the road with live chicken, sustaining that domestic production is ample and meets the needs of the local market. They pointed out to the presence of over 50 farms in the districts of Hasbayya and Marjayoon which sustain the livelihoods of dozens of households, lamenting the deadlock in disposing of their produce. On the subject, the local MP, Dr. Kassim Hashim, partaking in the sit-in, appealed for immediate action to salvage the industry similar to the apple cultivation crisis. Likewise, the President of the Syndicate of Poultry Producers, Imad Yassin, in his address to demonstrators, wondered if it were “logical that the price of one kg of chicken from the farm is the same as the price of one kg of bread?” He criticized the rationale of the government which approves loans to assist farmers and at the same time endorses the import of foreign products to compete with local production. (Al Diyar, Al Mustaqbal, An Nahar, October 8 and 10, 2016)