National Center for Forest Seeds of Lebanon

Beirut – 24 November, 2016

 The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture in Lebanon have launched their project ‘National Center for Forest Seeds of Lebanon’ during an inception workshop today at the Holiday Inn. The project is funded by the State of Norway with an estimated budget of US $ 373,032 for two years. The workshop was attended by the Ambassador of Norway, H.E Ms. Lene Lind, the Director of Rural Development and Natural Resources in the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Chadi Mohanna, representing the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Akram Chehayeb, the President-Director General of the Lebanese Agriculture Research Institute (LARI), Dr. Michel Afram, the FAO representative In Lebanon, Dr. Maurice Saade, and a number of officials, NGOs, and university representatives.

In his statement, the FAO representative in Lebanon, Dr. Maurice Saade said: “This project is a step, but nonetheless a cornerstone in achieving the 40 Million Trees Programme. The major outcome is to set up a seed center, in partnership with the Lebanese Agriculture Research Institute (LARI).” He added: “This seed center will ensure the quality and traceability of the seeds and their area of origin in Lebanon. Also, it will allow the storage of the seeds from the best mother trees of the country to be used in reforestation, allowing higher resilience of plants to the impact of climate extremes”. He then expressed his warm thanks to the Embassy of Norway for their trust and their belief in the forestry sector in Lebanon, and the Ministry of Agriculture and LARI for their continuous collaboration and partnership.

In his turn, President-Director General of LARI, Dr. Michel Afram also expressed gratitude to the Embassy of Norway and elaborated on the importance of such a project in Lebanon, and the institute’s capacity in implementing it. “I look forward to the launch of the National Center of Forest Seeds next year”, he concluded. 

H.E the Norwegian Ambassador to Lebanon, Ms. Lene Lind then stated: “Forests are essential to the well-being of people, agriculture and the environment. Therefore, we are immensely pleased to partner with the Government of Lebanon to step up the efforts to secure future forests in Lebanon”. She added: “Planting of trees and forests rely on access to quality forest seeds. The National Center for Forests Seeds has been established to meet this challenge and improve Lebanon's access to such quality seeds.  The Center will provide seeds for reforestation and make it easier to plant trees adapted to a changing climate and possibly harsher conditions”

And on behalf of H.E the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Akram Chehayeb, the Director of Rural Development and Natural Resources, Dr. Chadi Mohanna said: “Producing a healthy and strong seedling starts with a close selection of seeds free of disease and with no physiological stress. The 40 Million Tree programme needs at least three times this number in terms of good seeds. It is therefore crucial that Lebanon has its national seed center benefiting from the generosity of Norway and the technical assistance of FAO. The close collaboration of research (LARI) and forest sector managers (RDNRD) will be the key success for this center.”

Following the official ceremony, Dr. Magda Bou Dagher of the University of St. Joseph and Jouzour Loubnan, gave a presentation on the seed cycle under the title: Seed Adventure – from Nature to Nature.

Consequently, Dr. Joelle Breidy of LARI presented the process of seed conservation in Lebanon and an overview of the Seed Center that will be launched under the project.

In his turn, Dr. Abdel Hamied Hamid, Senior Forestry Officer at the FAO Regional Office for the Near East, presented a technical overview of the project ‘National Center for Forest Seeds of Lebanon’.

The project is in line with the priority of the Ministry of Agriculture to create an effective mechanism to monitor seed quality and trace its source, as well as improve its storing process and its planting and production phases. The FAO will support the Ministry of Agriculture and the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institution (LARI) in building the capacities of specialized and technical cadres, and empowering them to implement the project’s activities in all of its stages. This is in addition to the transfer of necessary knowledge and important technological techniques to the Ministry of Agriculture through study tours to Norway, in order to ensure that national expertise is continuously and effectively managing the center after the end of the project.