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According to a recent PhD thesis on poverty in the South and Nabatyeh prepared by Fatmeh Ezzedine, a social sciences student at the Lebanese University, 95% of households in the region are unable to save whilst 85% report that their income is not sufficient to cover their needs. The study uses a purposeful sample of 1000 households from the two districts which have a combined total population of 623043 inhabitants, representing 16.6% of the total population of Lebanon.  The study sample includes families with monthly income averaging LBP 900,000. The researcher used a detailed questionnaire consisting of 115 questions which look at various poverty-related indicators and aimed at drawing a panorama of poverty in the region, of its main indicators, exploring the relation between poverty and absence of development in Lebanon, and finally the social, financial, moral and psychological impact of poverty on household members.  According to the results of the study, 52.9% of the sample work in agriculture or as fishmongers, 36.2% of the heads of households have more than one occupation, the average income of the sample is LBP 897,000 per month and the unemployment rate is 18%.  Furthermore, the study indicated that 15% of the households have working children, 23% have a monthly income of less than LBP 500,000 and that the average economic activity rate in South Lebanon is 44.6%. (As Safir, 28 April 2015)

Major companies offered more than one thousand jobs in various disciplines at the Career and Orientation Expo, 2015 held at Rafiq Hariri City of the Lebanese University. The event which included seminars, lectures and a panel of big corporations and holdings from Lebanon and the Middle East, was opened by former Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas with the participation of the Dean of School of Law and Political Sciences, Camile Habib representing Lebanese University President Adnan Sayed Hussein, the Director of the Branch 1 of Law School, Hussein Obeid and a number of faculty and students. Farhat Farhat, director general of EDUCITY which is the organizing party specialized in education, highlighted the educational purpose of the exhibition which consists in inviting high school students to discover job prospects in the domestic labor market. On a different note, Nahhas criticized the present employment conditions in Lebanon noting that opportunities available do not match with educational standards. He added that the type of jobs currently available become largely occupied by foreign workers, mainly in the construction and agriculture fields, in domestic work and at gas stations. The Lebanese worker, he said, is left with the only option of immigration where he or she can use their education credentials and succeed according to their competence. Nahhas disclosed that during one year of his term as a Labor Minister, he signed some 200 thousand job permits for foreigners against some 200 work applications from Lebanese nationals. He reiterated that the primary choice for the Lebanese citizen is to emigrate, seek a job in the country through favoritism or get involve in some family business, all in the context of absence of secure income, and of professional or career dignity. (Al Akhbar, 29 April, 2015)

The processing of honey helps generate a reasonable source of income for beekeepers in addition to its multiple uses and benefits to Lebanon’s environment and economy through enhancing bee pollinated flowers and therefore enriching the agricultural harvests. To elaborate on this subject, Al Diyar published an article based on a meeting with head of the Cooperative for Beekeepers in Qarnayel - Higher Metn area, Abdel Nasser Masri. The newspaper pointed out that the cooperative is one of very few associations active since its onset in 1987 to date. According to Masri, the number of beehives in the region beats 3500 with a production of some 40 tons of honey. He cited some of the services of the cooperative namely securing machinery to sort and wax honey, providing honey jars at very competitive prices, in addition to the provision of medications used in beekeeping and pest control. Masri also noted that the cooperative buys the produce from the beekeepers according to certain specifications, tests it in specialized laboratories and stores it in proper warehouses so as to be marketed in good condition. Masri said he believed the number of beekeepers in the Metn area is still limited, and to this end the cooperative is organizing semi-annual training workshops to encourage beekeeping. “Last year, we trained some 19 new beekeepers from both sexes,” he said. He also noted that the cooperative won more than one project from USAID in one of which 10 of its members participated, and which will produce some 750 beehives to be distributed by USAID to beneficiaries in rural areas. Masri clarified that these projects generates surplus income to beekeepers beside their revenues from selling honey, royal jelly and other products. He finally pointed out to one key problem beekeepers face and which is related to the usage of toxic pesticides that adversely affect the production of honey and can to totally eradicate it, thus incurring big losses on the industry. (Al Diyar, 29 April 2015)

Al Diyar newspaper published an article about the migration of the Lebanese youth and its impact on the Lebanese economy. The article is based on an interview with economic expert Elie Yashu3i who notes that there are many reasons for migrating but forced migration is the worse and represents 80% of total migrations. The majority of forced migrants are educated youth who possess skills and capacities.  He adds that if the state provided opportunities for the youth to stay, the economy would fare better and the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) would increase up to USD 90 billion which is double what it is today. Yashu3i deplored the fact that the political elite does not care for this phenomenon and chooses to look at it only as a source of remittances. Yashu3i added that if youth were to stay in Lebanon and employ their skills, they would produce extra economic benefits of more than USD 50 billion per year compared to USD 8 billion of remittances a year. Yashu3i confirmed that the Lebanese economy, if properly reformed, can absorb the return of the youth population.  According to the economic expert, addressing the problem of youth requires a radical shift and a change of the political system. On a related vein, An Nahar newspaper published a report where it indicated that the US embassy is currently receiving some 40000 visa applications a year, including students and employees of which a large portion are seeking to migrate. However, of that total only 3000 applications are blessed with the issuing of a migration visa. (Al Diyar, An Nahar, 27 April 2015)

As Safir newspaper published an article on the impact of the Syrian displacement on host communities in the West Beqaa and Rashayya. The newspaper met with the president of the federation of municipalities in the region, Ibrahim Badran, who noted that the impact of displacement spread to several economic sectors.  He noted that services such as garbage collection are now accounting for 60% of the Federation’s budget. He also added that water pumping of four hours used to be sufficient for the residents of the area. However, the municipalities are now forced to pump twice as much. Furthermore, he said that some municipalities which provided electricity supply through private generators had to discontinue servicing the gatherings of displaced people as they no longer have the capacity, as in the case of Mansurah. He explained that the electricity grids are now likely to be misused by both residents and by the displaced. Badran warned the state not to ignore further the present crisis which is likely to become explosive. One relief official in Rashayya told As Safir that cheap Syrian labor now constitutes 85% of labor force in construction as well as in other sectors such as industries and refuse collection. He added that Syrian women now account for some 75% of salespeople in garment shops and other businesses. Furthermore, Syrian women are also present in nursing, administration, medical and engineering cabinets and in other liberal professions where they make up some 60% of the labor force. Agricultural investor Munir Hanna also referred to competition in agriculture where Syrian investors have pushed the cost of lease of agricultural land from USD 150 to 250 per dunum especially after concluding agreements with vegetables wholesalers in Qebb Elias who are providing them with money advances in return for future production. (As Safir, 24 April 2015)

The President of the Administration of the Regie and its Director General, engineer Nassif Saklaowi, honored the experts who contributed to the 2014 tobacco campaign as well as all the collection committees working in the South, the North and the Beqaa, the celebration was held at the Regie’s headquarters in Hadeth and was attended by members of the administrative committee, directors and other officials. In his opening remarks, Saklaowi praised the huge efforts of the technical team who concluded the 2014 campaign in record time of no more than a month and a half. During that short period the Regie collected 8000 tons of tobacco from more than 23000 farmers, from all over Lebanon. The total value of the 2014 tobacco harvest reached LBP 94 billion. Saklaowi also noted some of the key achievements of the Regie during the past few years namely the introduction of a computerization system, the domiciliation of the farmers’ accounts and speeding up the process of collecting and financially settling the harvest. (Al Diyar, As Safir, 25 April)

Some 31 producers and Lebanese coops participated in Horeca 2015 which was held at Biel last week with the support of USAID funded “Lebanon Industry Value Chain Development” project.  In a statement issued by USAID, the latter noted that during the exhibition small and medium agricultural producers, olive oil and honey producers organized tasting sessions on a daily basis at the panel leased by the project.  According to Nasser Lama, the technical director of the project, Lebanese products, have good capabilities to compete on regional and international market.  He added that the LIVCD project provides its beneficiaries with technical support for the adoption of new agro-processing techniques, assists in capacity building through the organization of specialized workshops, as well as investments for reinforcement and development. (As Safir, 25 April 2015)

The food safety campaign spearheaded by Minister Abuo Faour last year do not seem to have had an overall negative impact on the food and tourism sectors in Lebanon. Economic expert Walid Abu Suleiman told Al Diyar newspaper that despite the shock wave caused by the campaign in the tourism sector, things have nevertheless settled back to normal and restaurants turnover has increased by 20%, adding that consumers have regained their trust in local production and in the tourism sector. Abu Suleiman confirmed that there was need for special emergency measures to protect the national economy since it was not dramatically affected by the food safety campaign. In parallel with that campaign, the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Lebanon, Mohammed Choucair, inaugurated a new food safety training centre. In an interview with the Al Diyar, Choucair noted that the training centre will organize next month, and in collaboration with selected Ministers, the graduation ceremony for some 750 students who successfully completed their courses at the Training Centre. Choucair stressed that any self-respecting organization should aim to acquire this degree which is likely to become compulsory according to Minister of Industry, Hussein Hajj Hassan. He also praised the collaboration between the private and the public sectors. Within the same vein, the Minister of Economy and Trade, Alain Hakim announced in a statement yesterday, and on the occasion of the safe food industry day in Lebanon, that seven food processing industries have succeeded in adopting the food safety management system which is based on international standards and have acquired ISO certification. Furthermore, and during the opening of the previously mentioned event which was organized by the Syndicate of Food Industrialists in parallel with the launch of the annual Horeca exhibition, Minister Hajj Hassan referred to the food safety campaign and denied allegations that it was targeting the food industry. He acknowledged that there were gaps in certain enterprises but that these gaps were largely over-ridden by the positive results recorded by the sector. (Al Diyar, An Nahar, 23 April 2015)