Pine growers in Hasbayya, Arqoob seek government protection from sandalwood worms

In its edition of July 3, Al Mustaqbal newspaper shed light on the challenges facing pine growers in the regions of Hasbayya and Arqoob, the land of some 100 thousands pine trees. Pine woods stretching across the towns of Rashayya al Fukhar, Kfar Hamam, Habariyeh, Fardiss, Ain Qania, Mimes, Kefir and al Khalwat are mostly state-owned, owned by municipalities or are private property. In this respect, Amin Ibrahim, a pine guarantor for the government, municipalities and small landowners told Al Mustaqbal that pine growing generates remarkable proceeds to tens of households that benefit from pruning and gathering the kernels. He pointed out that one kilogramme of peeled white pine is being sold at more than LBP 60 thousand after reaching nearly LBP 85 thousand last year, attributing the price fall to the invasion of domestic markets by relatively cheap imported Chinese and Turkish pines. Moreover, Ibrahim added, pine growing requires great care, a skill most landowners lack and the authorities disregard, especially fighting sandalwood worm, which began to hit the pine this year, and constitute a factor of fear to farmers in the region. Besides, the daily wage of the pine laborer could reach around LBP 100 thousand due to the risky and physically demanding job involved, Ibrahim said, while noting that the majority of those workers are Syrians. For his part, Ghattas Ghareeb, the mayor of Rashayya Al Fukhar which embraces some ten thousand pine trees, appealed to the agriculture and environment ministries to support this cultivation and assist the municipalities in the pruning and cleaning up of conifers and protecting them against forest fires, which should be mandatory. Ghareeb highlighted the significance of this agriculture in the creation of jobs for rural inhabitants and in raising funds for the municipalities. (Al Mustaqbal, July 3, 2016)