Withering fields of green

Mohamad Ajami’s 65 beehives overlook the pastoral idyll of the Litani River Valley, with Jebel El Sheikh looming in the distance and Beaufort Castle laying to the right. Last year Ajami’s business was flourishing; he had a bumper honey harvest, generating 650 kilos. He was optimistic that this year would be even better, purchasing extra hives and equipment in anticipation of producing one ton of honey. At $25 for a 900-gram jar, Ajami should have netted more than $25,000. But three months ago he started realizing all was not well. The winds had been continuously blowing from the east, dry, desert winds instead of the westerly winds that provide the right moisture and dew for flora to thrive, and for the bees to pollinate and produce nectar. Ajami also noticed that the bees were not breeding, meaning he could not artificially swarm them and build up the number of colonies