On December 5, 2014 nearly 300 people, of which most farmers, gathered to Ablah to follow the actions of local personalities on increasingly central Lebanese agriculture topic: adaptation to climate change.
In particular, the central theme proposed by ACCBAT (strategic ENPI CBC Med project ) has been the importance of using treated wastewater for agricultural irrigation.
During the day, opened by the greetings of the president of the municipality of Ablah, Mr. Toufic Abou Zaydan, different personalities of the political and agricultural Lebanese world attended the event. Majida Mcheick, a representative of the Ministry of Agriculture, explained ACCBAT project to the farmers and emphasized the importance of the waste water use. José Antonio Naya Villaverde, ICU representative in Lebanon, has underlined the importance of ACCBAT project for Lebanon and recalled the strong partnership linking Lebanon and ICU since many years. Louis Lahoud, Director General of MoA, focused on the importance of water for agriculture and the importance of using alternative sources such as treated wastewater. He then outlined the government interventions implemented to deal with the shortage.
The speech of His Excellency Chouhayeb Akram, Minister of Agriculture, who in his speech not only deepened the topics covered during the day but has also opened the doors to the future, has been particularly significant. He emphasized how the collaboration between all parties has enabled the success of ACCBAT project which represents a fundamental achievements in a water shortage context that could worse in the next years. The Minister also addressed directly to farmers and civil society calling for a stronger partnership to face the challenges of limited water resources undergo Lebanon.
Glancing about the future, His Excellency also confirmed the absolute commitment of the Ministry of Agriculture to promote agricultural development and the country’s economy, hoping for a more solid cooperation with ICU and the EU.
