According to the Lebanese Caretaker Minister of Agriculture, Lebanon will partner itself to the Saudi initiative“Green Middle East”. In the future, Lebanon will aim to play an increasingly positive role in regards to dealing with     global warming and climate change issues. This statement came amid a session held within the framework of  the  second edition Arab Forum for Equality organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commissionfor West Asia (ESCWA) in Beirut.  The Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture, in line with the Green Middle East project, has developed a new national  strategy. The new strategy follows four main points which are: agricultural guidance, securing water, activating  cooperative work and expanding cultivated areas.  It is worth noting that the Green Middle East project is a Saudi initiative with the goal to increase the region’s  cooperation and efforts to restore 200 million hectares of degraded land, plant 50 billion trees and increase  vegetation cover 12-fold.  According to the Lebanese Caretaker Minister of Agriculture, Lebanon has 300,000 hectares of cultivated  land which can be increased to reach 700,000 hectares. Additionally, the country produces 700,000 tons of  vegetables which covers 87.5% of the population’s total need (800,000 tons).  The Lebanese Caretaker Minister of Agriculture stated that the ministry has launched a plan that  aims to grow wheat suitable for bread production in Lebanon. Efforts are ongoing in order to expand the reach   of Lebanese products in foreign markets with a major part of the aforementioned plan already achieved. It is worth noting that these developments come amid efforts from international institutions to help Lebanon’s  agriculture sector and work towards food security (for example the World Bank). It is worth finally mentioning  that an agreement between countries of the Levant, including Lebanon was made in order to increase  cooperation in the fields of agriculture. (ICE BEIRUT)

Fonte notizia: Bank Audi, Lebanon Weekly Monitor, 19-25 June 2023