A rich potato harvest at a farm about 15 km from Zahle, in the Bekaa region. - - Operation Seed Potato in Lebanon. The potato is an important food crop in Lebanon and normally the farmers import about 15,000 tonnes of seed potatoes a year. The 1975-76 civil strife in Lebanon caused widespread destruction, wrecked the economy and badly affected agriculture, particularly potato growing. Even if seed potatoes had been available, the farmers could not have prepared the land and planted and tended the crop. In November 1976 the Lebanese Government turned to the UN/Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for assistance and FAO immediately allocated $200,000 from its Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) funds to buy 300 tonnes of seed potatoes. FAO also appealed for funds and Switzerland donated $200,000 to the FAO/OSRO trust fund. Netherlands donated 1,300 tonnes of seed potatoes. Entrusted with the task, the Union Nationale de Crà?it Coopà?atif of Lebanon sold the potatoes, at a price 37.5% cheaper than the open market price, to about 3,700 applicants, with a maximum of 3 tonnes allowed to any farmer. Sums realised were ploughed into a revolving fund to finance other operations of agriculture rehabilitation in Lebanon.