Posted on May 23, 2024
Hatem Belhouchette (scientific coordinator) and Thierry Dupeuble (director) from CIHEAM Montpellier went to Beirut from May 12 to 15, 2024 to finalize the proposal for a new agroecology development project, implemented jointly with Fair Trade Lebanon and Action contre la Faim (ACF), with the support of the Agence Française de développement.
It was also an opportunity for further meetings with His Excellency the Minister of Agriculture, Abbas HDJ HASSAN, the Lebanese delegate to CIHEAM and advisor to the Minister, Wafaa Dika Hamze, the Minister's advisor, Salem Darwich, and many staff from the Ministry of Agriculture. As part of the SUPMED project, the mission also included a meeting with several women's cooperatives from the Baalbek plain, to prepare their participation in a major trade fair for local produce scheduled for autumn. Finally, a meeting with the Lebanese management of the World Food Program raised the prospect of a tripartite collaboration between the Ministry, WFP Lebanon, and IAMM to design and set up a data server dedicated to sustainable food systems in Lebanon.
The mission ended with a presentation of CIHEAM's activities in Lebanon to the new Counselor for Agricultural Affairs at the French Embassy, Siham Bouchenak-Talet.