Spanish aid

Ministry of Agriculture, YMCA, Catalonia forest center gear up for further cooperation

The Ministry of Agriculture signed a Consultancy and Technical Assistance agreement with the government of Spain’s autonomous district, Catalonia.

The agreement concerns the implementation of a project titled ‘Tools for the Sustainable Management and Conservation of the Oaks in Lebanon’.

The ten-month project is valued at around $100,000. It will be implemented in collaboration with YMCA Lebanon (Young Men’s Christian Association) and the Spanish Forest Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC).

The Ministry of Agriculture has recently signed a memorandum of understanding with YMCA and the CTFC. The agreement aims to identify a framework for potential cooperation between the signatories in the fields of research, training, and development. The fields of cooperation mainly include sustainable natural resources management and the development of the agro-forest sector.

Through the memorandum the three parties would form a steering committee to follow-up on the practical arrangements of cooperation.

The memorandum serves for one year and is renewable on a yearly basis.

Spain’s Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECI) recently funded a series of activities, implemented by YMCA and CTFC, for the development of the pilot forest in the North Lebanon village, Aito. The total value of its contribution was around $490,000.

AECI also provided, last March, $3.8 million worth of agricultural equipment as part of a project for enhancing the agricultural sector in the South.