New agreements for French support to six olive oil cooperatives in South Lebanon

Within the framework of the French agricultural aid program, Daman 2, and which aims at improving the quality of agricultural production and the wellbeing of farmers in the South particularly after the July 2006 war, French Ambassador, Patrice Paoli signed yesterday, in collaboration with the French Ministry of Agriculture, partnership agreements with representatives of six agricultural cooperatives located in Southern villages, namely Hula, Sreefa, Borj Kalaway, Froon, Kooneen, and Rshaff.
The initial phases of this 500K Euros project were implemented in 2008 and 2010 in collaboration with the UNIFIL French contingent and with the financial support of the French development agency, the Lebanese ADR, as well as Agriate, the French consulting firm in agriculture and rural development, in addition to the support of the Social Development Fund affiliated with the French Embassy.  The initial phases included the setting up of agricultural cooperatives aiming at improving the quality of local olive oil production through the setting up of modern olive press, and thereafter jumpstarting the economy of the targeted villages.
This new phase now being implemented includes the provision of  technical support and agricultural extension to improve management and governance, the training of farmers on advanced new techniques for  upgrading production and performance through the provision of the required equipments. This phase also seeks to support the sustainability of the cooperatives and best practices in administration and finance within the targeted cooperatives.
Source: Al-Nahar 20 February 2014