The Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture launched a national campaign to distribute soft wheat to Lebanese farmers, with the aim to “strengthen Lebanon’s food security,” caretaker Minister of Agriculture Abbas Hajj Hassan told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Lebanon relies mainly on imports to secure the necessary amounts of soft wheat needed for bread production. But the country is facing difficulties importing the material, following the country’s financial collapse and the Ukraine crisis, which affected global wheat supplies.
The campaign, which is part of a plan set by the Ministry of Agriculture and adopted by the Lebanese government more than two years ago, is being implemented at an accelerated pace, the minister said, stressing that the primary goal was to fully localize the production of the soft wheat needed to produce flour for making bread.
Hajj Hassan said the plan seeks to help farmers reach higher productivity at a lower cost and achieve stable and sustainable food security.
The project relies on partnerships with existing donor agencies and international organizations, including the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Program (WFP), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and other international partners.
The Lebanese people and all those displaced on Lebanese territory consume a minimum of 23,000 tons of flour per month. Hence, the Ministry of Agriculture targeted the production of soft wheat, which is used in bread making and is entirely imported, the minister underlined.
Wheat seeds were distributed to all Lebanese regions, except Mount Lebanon which does not boast vast agricultural areas like the Akkar in the north or Baalbek-Hermel in the east. Thus, this issue requires a new phase that would call for expanding agricultural spaces, explained Hajj Hassan.
