Upon instructions issued by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoAg), the chair of the Authority for Agricultural and Scientific Research, Michel Ephrem, released Tuesday a circular exempting agricultural cooperatives from laboratory analysis fees. This move comes as part of the ministry’s support for said coops, in general, and specifically, for women led rural coops, that process all kinds of rural foods. This measure will help coops conduct the required tests and receive their corresponding certifications for compliance with quality standards at no fee, hence facilitating their marketing and export. (Al Diyar, October 23, 2020)