Lebanon Celebrates World Food Day 2016
Aley – 10 October, 2016
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture in Lebanon, in collaboration with the World Food Program (WFP) and the Italian Cooperation, celebrated today World Food Day 2016, under the theme ‘Climate is Changing, Food and Agriculture Must too’. The ceremony was organized at the Al Hay El Gharbi Garden in Aley under the patronage of H.E. Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Akram Chehayeb, and the participation of representatives of the Minister of Energy and Water and the Minister of Environment.
The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Akram Chehayeb, the Director-General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Eng. Louis Lahoud, the Director-General of Hydraulic and Electrical Resources at the Ministry of Energy and Water, Dr. Fadi Comair, the Advisor to the Minister of Environment, Mr. Edmond Osta, the Italian Ambassador to Lebanon, Mr. Massimo Marotti, the FAO Representative in Lebanon, Dr. Maurice Saade, the WFP Representative in Lebanon, Mr. Dominik Heinrich, and Mayor of Aley, Mr. Wajdi Mrad. A number of official figures, representatives of embassies, UN agencies, civil society organizations, universities and the media participated in this event.
Following welcoming remarks by Mrs. Salma Jurdi Chehayeb, President of Ehyaa Association , and Mr. Wajdi Mrad, Mayor of Aley, Mr. Dominik Heinrich WFP representative in Lebanon, delivered a speech in which he pointed out that the “World Food Day is an opportunity for reaffirming WFP’s commitment towards achieving the Social Development Goal: Zero Hunger by 2030, and to express gratitude to the Government of Lebanon, to FAO and all other partners and to donors for entrusting WFP to contribute towards shared objectives of food security and good nutrition in Lebanon.”
Dr. Maurice Saade, FAO representative in Lebanon, extended the wishes of FAO Director-General, Dr. Josè Graziano Da Silva, and pointed out in his remarks that “climate change is already resulting in erratic weather patterns and increased pest and disease outbreaks that are undermining global food security” Stressing that agricultural sectors can play a transformative role in addressing the impacts of climate change and adding that “for Lebanon, the 40 million trees program constitutes a key element in enhancing the country’s adaptation to climate change.”
In his speech, the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Akram Chehayeb stated that “the negative impacts of climate change on food production could get worse if we do not implement adequate policies for sustainable food production and sustained productivity increase”, adding “the negative impact of climate change on Lebanese agriculture could amount to 800 million US Dollars by 2020 and up to 2.6 billion Dollars by 2040.”. He acknowledged FAO’s global efforts in enhancing human and institutional capacities to support the adaptation of the agriculture sectors to climate change and expressed his high appreciation for the Ministry’s partnership with FAO and for the continued support from the European Union, Italy in particular, to achieve the objectives of the Ministry’s strategy for 2015-2019.
The ceremony also marked the International Day of Rural Woman that is celebrated on 15 October every year, whereby a number of agricultural women cooperatives showcased their produce. The event also included the distribution of seedlings of pine trees to all attendees as a symbol of the role of reforestation as an important measure for adaptation to climate change.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) celebrates World Food Day on 16 October each year, the day on which the Organization was founded in 1945. Each year it is celebrated by more than 150 countries worldwide.
More about WFD of 2016:
http://www.fao.org/world-food-day/2016/en/
WFD 2016: Video message by FAO Director-General