The Chief Operations Officer and Technical Program Development at RET Germany, Mrs. Elcin DEMIREL, and the President Director General of LARI, Dr. Michel Afram, signed a cooperation agreement to implement the project “Strengthening the resilience and peaceful coexistence of Lebanese and Syrian refugees through increased income generation in the agricultural and food production sectors” funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany through the sponsor organization RET Germany, and implemented in consortium with GATE Lebanon (LNGO) and the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI). The event was held at the Headquarter of LARI in Tal Amara in the presence of the Director of Gate Lebanon, Mr. Ayman Abdullah, the project coordinator at GATE Lebanon, Mr. Hussein Nasrallah, and the project coordinator at LARI, Ms. Zinette Moussa.
The project’s overall objective is to improve the food security, livelihoods, and peaceful coexistence of local Lebanese and Syrian refugees communities in the Governorate of Baalbek-Hermel by improving agricultural and food production and raising awareness among farmers.
The Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI) will implement the following activities:
1. Technical support for fish farmers by conducting microbiological and chemical water testing of the river and fish farms to evaluate pollution levels and propose mitigation measures, if needed,
2. Training farmers on the use of agricultural technology in pest management through the establishment of 18 demonstration fields,
3. Conducting soil testing and proposing fertilization programs,
4. Training GATE engineers and farmers on integrated pest management, soil management and fertilization, weed management, pesticides, pruning and grafting, legumes and cereals production, water consumptive use, traceability in crop production, biological control and extension services provided by LARI to farmers through the application LARI LEB
.In addition to training the vulnerable households in Al Qaa on basic agricultural practices for subsistence farming (fruits and vegetables);
5. Preparing awareness and technical materials such as brochures to distribute to farmers;
6. Providing Farmers and citizens with an Early Warning System about weather conditions, especially storms and floods, and the risk of spread of agricultural pests through the LARI LEB mobile application.
