€14 million for agriculture

EU-funded program to enhance food security, improve living of local communities

August 1, 2011- The Minister of Agriculture Hussein Hajj Hassan, Head of the European Union Delegation to Lebanon, Angelina Eichhorst, and the President of the Council for Development and Reconstruction, Nabil el Jisr, inked a Financing Agreement for an Agriculture and Rural Development Programme (ARDP).

The program is funded by the EU through a €14 million grant, with an implementation period of four years. It aims at supporting the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) in the implementation of its reform policies to enhance the performance of the sector in order to achieve sustainable food security, as well as improve the livelihoods of rural communities.

The expected results of the program include strengthening the capacities of the MoA to design and implement agricultural policies, improving the quality and increasing the competitiveness of agricultural products. The program aims to increase the economic development of farmers and agricultural cooperatives, as well as develop rural infrastructure (building hill lakes, and the rehabilitation of the Ministry's forest nurseries).

Eichhorst said that the purpose of the program is both to maintain and enhance the country’s natural capital starting with its water resources while structuring the sector. "These activities also reflect our determination to work on the long term and to obtain sustainable results in terms of both job creation in the agricultural sector and the fight against climate change", she said.