Agreements to Expand Soft Wheat Cultivation

The media office of Agriculture Minister Abbas Al-Haj Hassan announced that "today an agreement was signed at the Ministry of Agriculture between the ministry and the army, between the ministry and the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture in Tripoli and the North, and another agreement between the ministry and the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture in Zahle." It was noted that "these three agreements aim to expand the areas cultivated with soft wheat and increase seed production over an area of 1,200 dunams, which will be distributed to farmers next year." The agriculture minister affirmed that "the signing represents a strategic partnership with the army and the chambers for the benefit of the nation and to enhance the country's food security," pointing out that "the partnership is the first cornerstone to enhance internal trust, and then with abroad." He considered that "the partnership between the public and private sectors is a top priority in this difficult situation and crisis the country is going through." He stated: "The partnership with the army has been ongoing for years in several projects, most notably the land survey conducted with the World Food Program and projects for wheat distribution, crop spraying, and reforestation operations." He emphasized that "the special relationship being strengthened with the chambers constitutes a partnership that includes several national projects, the latest of which was conducting free soil tests on all Lebanese lands in the laboratories of the North Chamber, along with cholera tests conducted by the ministry in the laboratories of the chamber."