Liberman Slams Plan to Harvest Southern Wheat Early

A government offer to compensate farmers in the south to harvest their wheat crop before it is fully grown is a surrender to terrorism, said Yisrael Beytenu head Avigdor Liberman. The program is “ridiculous. Instead of fighting terror, the government prefers to take the easy way out and recommend an absurd solution for farmers. Israel must help farmers do their work securely and safely,” he said

The objective is to get the wheat out of the ground before the weather gets too dry, and the danger of fires due to incendiary terror balloons increases. According to an announcement by the Agriculture Ministry last week, the government will pay farmers NIS 50 for every dunam of wheat harvested through May 1st. The wheat harvest generally comes in the summer. The prematurely harvested wheat will be sold as animal fodder.

“The government is abandoning farmers, and they are content to let our fields burn. There is no other way to explain the insulting offer to farmers in the Gaza border area to harvest their crops early,” said Nir Meir, chairperson of the Kibbutz Movement. “NIS 50 per dunam of wheat is an insult,” Meir said. “The government sends millions of shekels a month to Hamas terrorists, and tries to save a few shekels on the backs of farmers. This is capitulation to terrorism, and an insultingly low compensation for farmers who are being forced to harvest their crops early due to the threat of balloon terror.”