President Michel Aoun confirmed that “Lebanon attaches great importance to the agricultural sector because it is an essential part of the production economy after it was for years depending on the rentier economy.”
The statement came during his meeting at Baabda Palace with the new representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FOA) of the United Nations in Lebanon, Noura Orabeh Haddad, in the presence of the caretaker Minister of Agriculture, Abbas Hajj Hassan.
President Aoun pointed out that “the land is the most important thing, and that stability in life comes from the land,” stressing that “attention is needed to securing wheat in light of the global crisis that resulted from the Ukrainian-Russian war.”
He also requested the assistance of the FAO to facilitate Lebanon’s export of agricultural and fruit production amid the ongoing difficult conditions.
From her side, Haddad draws attention that some of the FAO priorities will be presented and culminated in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, such as developing an integrated plan to help Lebanon achieve food security.
She didn’t deem the food sector as a separate sector, but rather encompassing food systems, from production to consumption, stressing on the importance to set policies and support them to achieve food security and sustainable development goals.
