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Lebanese traditional agro-food week in Brazil

24-1-2018

The director general of the agriculture ministry, Louis Lahud, announced yesterday the upcoming launch of a Lebanese week for traditional agro-food industries in Rio De Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Brazil. The main products to be showcased are: hummus with tahini, baba ganoush, pomegranate molasses, karob molasses, zaatar, summac, halaweh, tahini, arak, wine, dairy products, cheeses and pickles. Lahud’s statement came during his official visit to the South American country heading a delegation from the ministry to activate Lebanese-Brazilian agricultural relations. The first stop of the said visit was Rio de Janeiro where Lahud met with a large group of the expat community at the Lebanese consulate, including respectively, the head of the Brazilian-Lebanese Chamber of Commerce, Adel Abu Rjeili, the president of the Federation of Brazilian Chambers of Commerce and director general of Rio de Janeiro’s agriculture ministry. Lahud thanked the Brazilian officials for their cooperation with the Lebanese ministry, emphasizing Lebanon’s interest in enhancing cooperation between exporters and importers on both sides in the sectors of agronomy and animal resources, in addition to, the exchange of expertise between the schools of agriculture and veterinary medicine in Lebanon and the Federal Agricultural University in Rio de Janeiro. Abu Rjeili for his part, expressed readiness to support efforts that facilitate agricultural exchange and the marketing of made-in-Lebanon goodies in Rio de Janeiro. (Al Mustaqbal, January 27, 2018)

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Conferences boost hotel industry and exhibitions stimulate domestic trade

23-1-2018

An Nahar newspaper revealed that the ministry of tourism plans to make a shift to a new dimension, targeting and strengthening the business tourism sector, represented in exhibitions and conferences. This step is expected to give a direct boost to the hotels industry, through the booking of international companies partaking in exhibitions in the host country, and leading to an expansion in the size of national economy on the long term. On the subject, the president of the Lebanese Exhibitions & Conferences Association, Elie Rizk, noted the impression of the Lebanese companies in the Arab Gulf states, and commending the administrative procedures by Gulf authorities to facilitate participation in expos and conferences. Rizk made clear that Lebanon’s hotel infrastructure is adequate to host events of the kind and accommodate between 1000 to 1500 guests, noting that the political and security instability in the past couple of years has hindered progress in this sector. On the exhibitions front, Horeca Hospitality Services Lebanon, is returning to Beirut Waterfront from March 20-25, 2018. Over 350 local and international exhibitors from the UAE, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Italy, France, Belgium, Netherlands and Korea will showcase more than 2,500 renowned food, packaging and kitchen appliances brands. Also, the minister of telecommunications, Jamal Jarrah, launched the second edition of Smartex expected to take place from April 25-28 at Forum de Beirut. The event is dubbed a platform for the latest innovations in the world of communications and IT. (An Nahar, Al Diyar, January 18, 19, 2018)

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Initiatives to promote digital entrepreneurship, create jobs

19-1-2018

Within the framework of promoting digital initiatives, 10 investment funds, currently running USD 360 million, officially launched the Lebanese Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (LVCPEA) yesterday. The association which includes a number of active players in fund management in the country aims at exchanging ideas, developing administrative policies and creating a structure representative of the sector. On the occasion, LVCPEA president Maroon Chammas, said the goal of the association is to expand the knowledge-based economy, as well as, promote digital initiative to develop the national economic and increase employment prospects, anticipating the creation of close to 5 thousand jobs directly and another 25,000 jobs indirectly. Meanwhile, Touch, the leading mobile telecommunications and data operator in Lebanon, in partnership with ‘Teach for Lebanon’ (TFL) kicked off the e-touch educational program aimed at supporting underprivileged children in rural and remote areas. To recall, e-touch centers are already available at the Nader Association for Child offenders Rehabilitation in Deddeh, Kura and at Afaf el Tofl School in Marj, Beqaa. In a related vein, a number of ambitious young entrepreneurs from Lebanon concluded their participation in the 10-day intensive entrepreneurship training workshop at the Arab Innovation Academy (AIA) in Doha, Qatar. The course was organized by Qatar Science & Technology Park (QTSP), a member of the Qatar foundation Research and Development (QF R&D), in partnership with the European Innovation Academy. The first edition of this pioneering Pan-Arab entrepreneurship program provides an opportunity for more than 100 aspiring young college students and entrepreneurs from all parts of the Arab world, including 13 Lebanese students, to develop and live their technological startup experience. (Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, January 18 and 19, 2018)

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Building Alliance for Local Advancement with USAID support

18-1-2018

The USAID funded Building Alliance for Local Advancement, Development and Investment (BALADI) initiative announced yesterday from Le Gray Hotel in Beirut the launch of 32 new development projects which will receive the support and in-kind assistance from the program. This comes after BALADI’s third call for funding municipal development undertaking in July 2017 which paved the way for a larger number of municipalities to submit projects responding to their community needs. On the occasion, Rene Moawad Foundation CEO Michel Moawad, said that the BALADI initiative has, since its inception in 2012, proved to be a crucial need for local municipal development. It especially targets municipalities that lack proper financial and human capacities to help them implement needed community development activities and deliver required public services, Moawad maintained. For her part, USAID Mission Director, Anne Patterson, pointed out that the Agency will provide more than USD 3 million in the form of equipment, installations, infrastructure, technical assistance and training for the implementation of new projects that alleviate economic and social burdens of Lebanese host communities. The new projects cover 7 sectors, namely: solar water heating, income generation, solar street lighting, health services, public education, electricity generation and solar-powered water supply. The above projects will engage municipalities, rural communities and non-government organizations across Lebanon. (For information about winning municipalities, please check: http://nna-leb.gov.lb/ar/show-news/324201). (Al Mustaqbal, An Nahar, Al Diyar, January 18, 2018)

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Government-sponsored local development activities

15-1-2018

House Speaker Nabih Berri represented by agriculture minister, Ghazi Zeiater, sponsored the inauguration of the conference on Sustainable Agricultural Development at Bassel Assad’s Cultural Center in Tyre. Zeiater in his opening address emphasized his support to protect and develop agricultural resources, pointing that the marginalization of agriculture in a developing state like Lebanon, has continued for decades in favor of fostering other industries. To date, Zeiater said, despite efforts to increase subsidies to the sector, these barely reached 1% of the total general budget. Meanwhile, the minister of labor, Mohamad Kabara represented by the ministry’s director general, George Aida, sponsored the completion of three workshops at the National Vocational Training Center in Dekwaneh, implemented by the European Institute for Cooperation and Development and funded jointly by UNHCR and the French Agency for Development. The courses which covered, the installation and maintenance of air conditioners, refrigerators and household electricity grids, as well as different life skills, targeted some 45 Lebanese, Syrian and Iraqi participants, including school dropouts and job seekers. In the same vein, and under the patronage of tourism minister, Avedis Guidanian, the Badr Hassoun Eco Village in Dahr el Ain organized on Saturday the ‘Eco Tourism Wedding’ to mark its placing on Lebanon’s touristic map. On the occasion, Eco Village CEO, Dr. Badr Hassoun, outlined the various stages of construction of the Village which represented his childhood dream, pointing to the planting of about 60,000 square meters of flowers and to the many families working on and benefiting from the project and its products. (Al Diyar, An Nahar, Al Mustaqbal, January, 13, 14, 15, 2018)

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Crisis of agriculture to continue amidst government’s indifference

12-1-2018

Everyone agreed that last year was a bad year for agriculture. Furthermore, An Nahar newspaper drew attention yesterday to the major losses of local potato growers, particularly in the Beqaa region. Many factors are involved, the newspaper analyzed, while listing the following: government’s ending of subsidies to refrigerated trucks that transfer goods and supplies to the markets as well as to supporting RoRo ships; weak marketing drive, Jordan’s decision to close its markets to Lebanese agricultural products. This, An Nahar wrote, has exacerbated the losses on farmers (estimated at over USD 3 million). On he other side, the article cited the director-general of agriculture, Louis La7hud, as reiterating the prime minister’s commitment to compensating potato farmers in response to Jordan’s decision. La7hud revealed that meetings will be held in the coming days to review and modify the support mechanism implemented by IDAL to this end, noting the importance of economic diplomacy in alleviating the marketing quandary. It is to be noted that the minister of agriculture, Ghazi Zeiater left the Cabinet meeting yesterday before it was adjourned for “unduly omitting agricultural items on its agenda”, as he said, while lamenting: “Why should this sector have to suffer for 40 years? (An Nahar, Al Diyar, Al Mustaqbal, January, 11 and 12, 2018)
 

Previous related news: 
2017, yet another bad year for agriculture in Lebanon

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Smooth transition of family business

12-1-2018

In collaboration with HEC Paris Alumni Association, the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for Beirut and Mount Lebanon organized yesterday a seminar on ‘Preparations and procedures for ensuring a smooth transition of ownership’. The event saw the presence of a large group of economic leaderships and family business owners. On the occasion, Chamber vice president, Dr. Nabil Fahd, underlined the importance of family-run businesses in the local and global economies, which represent according to him, more than 80% of enterprises, noting that the majority of giant companies are family-owned. Fahd also stressed that such meetings help to learn about participants’ experience and how to address challenges and opportunities inside family businesses. The president of HEC Paris Alumni Association, Nicola Bou Khater, disclosed for his part, that over 85% of succession planning fails due to a lack of trust and communication or lack of competent governance or more because of the lack of a capable heir. In Lebanon, Bou Khater said, family-owned businesses play a major role in creating employment prospects and stimulating economic development, contributing about 80% of the GDP. Likewise, the international expert on family business, Reg Athawal, elaborated the various procedures and arrangements required to ensure a smooth transition. (Al Mustaqbal, January 12, 2018)

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Traditional soap making in Iqlim al-Kharrub towards extinction

10-1-2018

Al Mustaqbal newspaper today shed light on the making of traditional handcrafted soap in Iqlim al-Kharrub and which had once flourished in the villages of the district for its multiple benefits and useful components based on pure olive oil. Today, the industry is waning with the diminishing number of craftspersons who inherited it from their ancestors, and with growing consumption of commercial soaps easily obtainable at shops and vendors, Al Mustaqbal wrote. This trade directly depends on the olive yield, according to Ali Fawwaz who makes ‘baladi’ soap (conventional). Fawwaz said he learned the skill from his mother but did not employ it as a means to secure his livelihood. He gave the reporter the unique recipe for making conventional soap. First, the water is boiled in a large metal cauldron after which olive oil and tar are added and stirred roughly for 6 hours for consistency. Then, the mixture is poured in a special wooden tray and placed on a smooth surface and left for one day to harden before it is ready to be cut into small equal pieces, Fawwaz boasted. Soap making is a simple and inexpensive trade but requires plenty of time and effort, Fawwaz explained, demanding government backing to this vanishing industry. Besides the numerous benefits of the traditional soap, Fawwaz revealed a sneaky tip followed by many women in Iqlim al-Kharrub, which is to sprinkle soap skin or rind on the carpet at the end of the winter season as a proven deodorizer and moth repellent. (Al Mustaqbal, January 10, 2018)

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Citizens are victims of disagreement among officials on toxic pesticides

9-1-2018

During the past week, a dispute arose between MP Wael Abu Faour and Agriculture Minister Ghazi Zuaiter, regarding the agricultural pesticides, and this after Zuaiter issued a decision last December involving the modification of the content of a joint dictate by both ministries issued on June 13, 2016, which banned the import of a large number of toxic agricultural pesticides which proved to be significantly linked to disruptive hazards on the health of pregnant women, while he excluded some 18 types of pesticides but later consented their importation. Abu Faour asked his colleague to repeal his decision, demanding the intervention of the Public Prosecution, and revealed that companies involved in importing pesticides have paid huge sums amounting to USD 500,000 to buy their entry into domestic markets. On its part, the ministry of agriculture presented documents issued by the health and agriculture ministries during Abu Faour and Akram Chehayeb’s terms, indicating that both ministries have conceded the use for one year of certain carcinogenic pesticides, while sources at the agriculture ministry said that Zuaiter has excepted only the pest control chemicals used in reference countries (European Union, Japan, USA…). Similarly, the Association of Importers and Distributors of Supplies for Agricultural Production, described as ‘imprecise and misleading’ Abu Faour’s statement especially that it lacks scientific background, refusing to be represented by non-specialists, as he put it. (Al Mustaqbal, December 30, 2017, January 8, 2018)

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50 health inspectors trained in Tripoli

9-1-2018

In collaboration with the ministries of economy and health, the Municipality of Tripoli jointly with the Chamber of Commerce for the North distributed certificates on Friday to some 50 health inspectors who completed a training course on food safety and health inspection. On the occasion, Dr Rana Husseini, head of Tripoli Central Clinic, outlined the goals of the training workshop, including the activation of health monitoring to raise awareness among the health officers particularly in observing food safety standards, as well as, standardizing the norms and rules used to this end. For his part, the Caza doctor in charge, Bshara Eid, pressed the need to comply with health specifications and quality stipulations in food safety, pointing to the huge responsibility on part of the health inspector, particularly in challenging the systematic corruption that completely disregards food safety and public health provisions. Speeches during the ceremony stressed the significance of the training session in improving the health conditions in the Northern capital, especially among the butchers and poultry shop owners. To note, the 50 health beneficiaries belong to the Municipality and to the ministries of health and economy. (Al Diyar, January 9, 2018)

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