A/HRC/2/8 page 11 thousands of head of livestock and poultry were killed and agricultural infrastructure, such as roads, machinery, buildings, farms and agro-processing factories, were destroyed.22 For example the Special Rapporteur was informed that in Lusi village in the Beqaa Valley, a goat and sheep farm was bombed, killing about 200 head of goats and sheep.23 The Ministry of Agriculture estimates that immediate and direct losses in agriculture amount to several hundreds of millions of United States dollars. 22. The war prevented farmers from harvesting and from irrigating their fruit and vegetable crops, and the land and sea blockade prevented any exports. The war took place at the peak time for the harvest (mainly stone fruits and potatoes) destined for export, but much of this year’s harvest perished on the ground, as bombing forced farmers to abandon their lands and transport to market became impossible. It was reported that trucks attempting to transport agricultural products to market were hit several times by Israeli raids. With the loss of income from harvests, many farmers have become heavily indebted as they usually repay their debts during the harvest season (May-October) to secure credit for the following planetary season. The Ministry of Agriculture was concerned that this would lead to a downward spiral of debt and poverty for Lebanese farmers. 23. Agricultural fields have also been rendered useless until unexploded bombs littering the land can be removed or exploded. According to the United Nations Mine-Action Centre (UNMAC), hundreds of thousands of pieces of unexploded ordnance (UXO), mostly cluster bombs (anti-personnel weapons that spray bomblets indiscriminately over a wide area), will need to be cleared before agriculture can be re-established. It was reported that more than 1.2 million cluster bombs were dropped by the Israeli forces. About 90 per cent were dropped in the last 72 hours of the war when the Israeli forces were already aware that a ceasefire was imminent.24 As of 19 September 2006, the United Nations had identified 516 individual cluster bomb strike locations.25 UNMAC estimates that the failure rate of these cluster bomb sub-munitions is between 30 and 40 per cent. Many hundreds of thousands of unexploded cluster sub-munitions are scattered throughout the southern region.26 Complete clearing of the south could take up to 10 years.27 It is also estimated that from 14 August to 17 September, 83 civilians were injured and 15 died as a result of mines and cluster bombs.28 It is also estimated that a large area of grassland used for animal grazing was also contaminated by cluster bombs.29 The Special Rapporteur was concerned that due to limited resources for clearing lands from bombs, mine clearance personnel are understandably giving priority to urban centres and roads, rather than agricultural fields. This means that many farmers are attempting to explode the bombs on their own, which is extremely dangerous.30 Clearing the fields has now become urgent, as in the upcoming rainy season, cluster bombs and other munitions will sink into the mud and/or become camouflaged by the spring grasses, effectively becoming like landmines. Clearing the land of these unexploded bombs is essential to enable the reconstruction of livelihoods. The long-term damage of Israel’s last flurry to flood the land with cluster bombs is difficult to estimate. The Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture is also currently investigating whether bombs releasing poisonous chemical products have also affected the soil.31 24. The destruction of infrastructure in relation to agriculture, including the destruction of agricultural land and civilian infrastructure such as ports, roads, warehouses, food industries, bridges and markets, has made and will continue to make the production of food and its distribution throughout the country extremely difficult. It has been estimated that 145 bridges and overpasses and 600 km of roads were destroyed or damaged.32 The Special Rapporteur was