Three weeks after the 34-day conflict between Israel and Hizbollah ended, farm land in the southern region of Lebanon remains littered with unexploded ordnance that is keeping farmers from tending and harvesting crops at what should be one of their busiest periods.

The cost of the war to agriculture, including the loss of crops and livestock, as well as damage to equipment such as irrigation systems, could run into several hundred millions of dollars, farmers' associations estimate. Agriculture accounts for around 7 per cent of gross domestic product and much of the produce comes from the south, which bore the brunt of the conflict.
Lebanon's southern tobacco farmers began harvesting at the end of May and would usually keep picking until the end of September, initially selecting leaves from the bottom of the plant, before working their way up the stems as others ripen. Most workers left the area after the conflict erupted, then started returning after the UN-brokered ceasefire on 14 August.
It is still possible to see bunches of tobacco leaves hanging from beams in porches and garages, but some farmers say that is what was picked before the war. Many are too scared to check whether or not unexploded bombs lie among their fields. They are frightened by shards of shrapnel and dirty-white pieces of fibre, attached to some types of cluster bombs, that now lie scattered between the tobacco plants or craters in the earth. Many farmers say they will lose 60 per cent or more of their harvest, pointing in the direction of plants with sickly, yellowish-brown leaves drooping in the hot sun.
The UN, non-governmental agencies and the Lebanese army – which is ill-equipped for the task – are beginning to clear the munitions. But farmers complain that nobody has visited their fields. The UN Mine Co-ordination Centre says 435 cluster bomb "strike areas" have already been identified and new areas are being discovered daily. (ft)