Other news

A meeting was held Saturday at the Bcharre Municipal Palace to discuss community and individual agricultural initiatives and their practical impact on the farmers of the Caza. Participants called for coordination among all local stakeholders to confront the distressing economic and living conditions the country is going through. It was agreed to form an agricultural follow-up committee to support farmers and spread awareness on good agricultural practices and extension to the end of increasing crop production, improve its quality and reduce water waste. Concurrently, the Chouf Cedar Reserve announced the launch of multiple initiatives to promote home gardens and the cultivation of long-neglected lands to face food insecurity and scarcity of resources this year and keep the wheels of economy turning. A number of guidelines were issued by the Reserve wishing the local residents and farmers to observe. These include, cutting down on excessive use of household water in order to use for irrigation; the adoption of drip irrigation and the use of natural organic and not chemical nutrients for crops. Similarly, former minister Hassan Murad said in a tweet: “A nation that is dependent on its land does not starve. It eats what it grows.” To this effect, around 100,000 seedlings were distributed among families wishing to eat what they grow. (Al Diyar, May 18, 2020)
 
 

Lebanese movie director, Nadine Labaki launched a campaign yesterday titled “Zarri’et Qalbi” (plant of my heart) gathering a group of public figures in a promotion video produced remotely. Celebrities and relatives of Labaki were filmed planting in different locations and singing to the song ‘Hashisht Albi’ (weed of my heart) from the soundtrack of her famous film ‘Halla’ Lawein’. The campaign as published on Labaki’s social media pages, is a collaboration of many sustainable agricultural initiatives that seek to help citizens wishing to grow seeds and vegetables in their homes or fields. In its reaction to above campaign, Al Akhbar daily wrote, that while many hailed the initiative, the video has sparked wide criticism towards the touristic approach tackling the anguish of the Lebanese people which presented a dreamlike solution to the dilemma as is always the case in Labaki’s films. (Al Akhbar, May 18, 2020)
 

One of the main challenges of agriculture in Lebanon is the almost complete absence of local fertilizer production, Al Akhbar daily reported on Saturday. The market’s need to import chemical and organic fertilizers is combined with the near to the ground exchange rate of the Lebanese Lira against the US dollar and the obstacles facing production and export lines in producing countries due to the Corona pandemic. The import figures of chemical fertilizers that poison food and the environment are frightening, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars in the last ten years alone. The highest price per ton imported in 2019 was USD 272, Al Akhbar wrote. On the other hand, and in a simple calculation, the Lebanese daily discard between 3.5 to 4 thousand tons of organic waste out of a total 5 to 7 thousand tons of waste, that is more than 2000 tons of organic fertilizers. Therefore, Lebanese lose nearly USD 544 thousand every day (without counting in the cost of manufacture), Al Akhbar concluded. (Al Akhbar, May 9, 2020)
 

Emerging Investment Partners (EIP), a private equity fund management for the MENA region, announced that it has successfully closed the first phase of subscriptions at its Levant Fund. The anticipated target size is USD 60 million to be employed in small and medium enterprises in Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq. EIP said in a statement, that the main contributions to the fund are from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), A member of the World Bank Group, and Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF), in addition to local investment parties, namely Obegi and Al Fadel Groups and Capital pe. The fund, according to the statement, will focus on SMEs whose sales are less than USD 50 million, provided the invested amounts in each company is between USD 1 million and USD 6 million. The Fund investments will target existing high potential companies helping them to expand and scale up their activities locally and globally through export. (Al Akhbar, March 12, 2020)
 
 

The Baalbaq-Hermel Governorate Council hosted on March 6 the closing ceremony for the training workshop on ‘Hospitality arts’ funded by the Bishops’ Conference of Cologne, Germany. The event was held under the patronage of Governor Bashir Khodr and the participation of the project coordinator at the Green Villages Association and Smart Center, in addition to the trainer Charbel Morshed and The training  graduates. The 3-month course included some 60 hours of training targeting owners of hospitality establishments and a number of employees with the aim to upgrade the performance of cafes, restaurants, hotels and touristic institutions in the Baalbaq-Hermel area. On the occasion, Khodr wished the beneficiaries all the luck they need, prompting them to use what they learned to develop their businesses. At the end of the ceremony, certificates were distributed among graduates. (NNA, March 6, 2020)