Sectarian...potato

The great potato debacle: 8000 ha of potato crops being currently harvested in the north, central and west Biqa`, at a loss of $2,500 per ha. Large traders are buying cheap and stocking for the Muslim month of fasting, Ramadan, when food consumption increases dramatically (don't ask how fasting increases food consumption, please). In the West Biqa`, however, Sunni leader Saad Hariri has promised the Sunni constituency a compensation of $2,500 per ha for potato farmers. Shi`a and Christian farmers are waiting for a rich benefactor to follow suit. Lebanon has found in its sectarian system the perfect alternative to state subsidies. Pity parliamentary elections only come once every 4 years.