The Lebanese agricultural sector has faced a number of challenges over the past few years, including competition from neighboring countries, harsh weather and border closures that impede exports. However, farmers in southern Lebanon, in addition to the problems listed above, suffer from damage caused by wild boars to their fields and gardens.

Fadwa Gida, a farmer from the eastern sector of southern Lebanon, said she had been waiting for months for a harvest of cowpea and beans from her field adjacent to the Hasbani River. But her plot was captured by a herd of pigs, and the crop was completely destroyed.

The guide said that the pigs ravaged her field and deprived of the income from the sale of crops, which are estimated at about 2 thousand US dollars.

She added that the number of wild boars on the southern borders of the country has increased significantly, and they destroyed 90% of her crop. Farmer Walid Zerkta said that herds of pigs attacked his garden with an area of ​​10 thousand square meters and destroyed apples and pears.

“My losses range from 8 to 9 thousand. USA due to attacks of wild boars. “We could not put an end to their raids due to unexplained neglect by the ministries of the interior, agriculture and the environment,” he said.

Farmer Bassel Kadri said Lebanese security forces and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon prohibit border hunting, adding that his corn garden in Halta was completely destroyed by pigs for three nights.

Another farmer, Jalal Abu Hassan, finds a way to get rid of pigs by distributing poisoned fruit at the entrance to the farms.

“We also set up iron traps for catching pigs, but this method is ineffective in light of the large number of herds of pigs, and each herd includes from 15 to 25 pigs of various sizes,” he said.

Yussef Fayyad, head of Al-Mari municipality, a village in Hasbay, said he took the initiative to allow farmers to protect their fields from pigs at night by firing herds from their hunting rifles.