In coordination with the Union of Baalbaq Municipalities, the Institute for University Cooperation (ICU), concluded yesterday a training course for a number of Lebanese and Syrian refugees. To note, the two-week workshop entitled, ‘Empowering the livelihoods of vulnerable groups in agriculture’, is funded by the UN World Food Program (FAO). On the occasion, the head of the Municipalities Union, Hamad Hassan, reiterated support for similar projects in the villages within the Union where agriculture constitutes a key source of living for the people. He called on the local and international organizations to back related initiatives aimed to empower the targeted groups. This includes training workers in the agricultural sector and the financing of undertakings that contribute to revitalizing the agriculture infrastructure in direct collaboration with local municipalities or through associations involved in supporting Syrian refugees and the host Lebanese communities. For her part, engineer Majida Mishayk, from the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute, emphasized the importance of the project in creating jobs in the sector. At the end of the course, the beneficiaries were handed certificates and work tools. (NNA, August 28, 2019)