A proposal to set up an autonomous Chamber for Agriculture frozen since 2003

An Nahar newspaper published a report yesterday focusing on a proposed law for the creation of an autonomous Chamber of Agriculture that would be in charge of holding the Agricultural registry.  The report reminds of the history of the proposed law which submitted in 2003 and which was never put into effect.  The report relays the point of view of the president of the association of farmers, Antoine Howayek, who notes that allowing farmers to join the ranks of the other Chambers will lead to a radical change in the geographical and confessional composition of the Chambers.  This, according to Howayek, has prompted many political forces to stand against such change.
Howayek notes that the creation of an autonomous Chamber of Agriculture, in charge of the Agricultural registry, will facilitate farmers' access to their rights as it will allow them to register and subsequently to join the NSSF. It will also enable farmers to register their vehicles as private cars, and will big of great assistance in determining, with much precision, the properties of their holdings. This will subsequently assist farmers in securing an insurance against natural catastrophes. This key step will also enable farmers to have access to agricultural loans, regulate land usage, and improve farmers' productivity through the provision of extension services.
In detailing the project, Howayek noted that the proposal entails creating 7 agricultural chambers in Mount Lebanon, the North, Akkar, Baalbaq & Hermel, the rest of the Beqaa, South, and Nabatieh, thus ll providing an excellent example of economic and development decentralisation.  Financing for these Chambers will be essentially drawn from membership dues as well as from issuing certificates of agricultural origin.  He estimated that total proceeds from some 100,000 farmers will be no less than USD 10 million per year.
Finally, the report notes that proposal to create an autonomous Chambers of Agriculture was supported by a number of MPs when first submitted in 2003.  However, the proposed law was never endorsed. Later on, the Economic and Social Council Forum which was organised by the EU in 2009 discussed this matter again and recommended its endorsement but with no conclusive outcome yet.
Source: Al-Nahar 4 March 2014