Hani Oversees the Opening of the “Green Project” Office in Rashaya: Agriculture Will Remain the Foundation of Life and Land

Lebanon Today

Under the patronage of the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Nizar Hani, and in the presence of MP Wael Abu Faour, the launch ceremony of the Green Project office in Rashaya was held at the invitation of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Green Project, in cooperation with the Union of Jabal El Sheikh Municipalities, represented by its president Nizam Muhanna, the Union of Qalaat Al Istiklal Municipalities, represented by its president Yasser Khalil, and the Municipality of Rashaya, represented by its president Rashrash Naji, in the Rashaya Municipality building and the Union headquarters.

The celebration was attended by the Mufti of Rashaya, Sheikh Dr. Wafiq Hijazi, MP Dr. Ghassan Skaff, Mr. Khaled Al-Hawari representing MP Hassan Murad, Rashaya Governor Nabil Al-Masri, Advisor to the Sheikh Akl of the Druze Unification Community Sheikh Farid Abu Ibrahim and members of the Druze Religious Council, Father Ibrahim Saad, Director General of the State Employees Cooperative Nazeih Hammoud, Chairman of the Administrative and Executive Committee of the Green Project in Lebanon, Engineer Raymond Khoury, Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture Mazen Al-Halwani, President of the Lebanese Association for Studies and Training, Dr. Rami Al-Laqis, Head of the Bekaa Department at the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Khalil Akl, and the South Bekaa official in the Green Project, Gloria Abi Issa.
Also present were the Interior Agent of the South Bekaa in the Progressive Socialist Party, Aref Abu Mansour, a member of the Political Bureau in the “Free Patriotic Movement”, Tony Al-Haddad, the “Movement” official in Rashaya, Mikhail Matta, the National Party official in Rashaya, Khaled Redan, the Rashaya official in the Lebanese Democratic Party, Jamal Al-Buraqshi, sheikhs, dignitaries, heads of municipalities, mukhtars, and a crowd of farmers and residents.

After a welcoming speech and introduction by Diana Hammoud, the Mayor of Rashaya, Rashrash Naji, delivered a speech in which he said: “Agriculture is not just a profession, but an art of survival, it is the hand that nature extends to us to say work and I will bear fruit for you. Let us return to the land not only to cultivate it but to belong to it. This is what is happening in your era, Your Excellency Minister Nizar Hani, where farmers have regained their confidence and the land has regained its greenery to truly say that agriculture is the safe haven and returning to the land is the safety valve.”
He added: “Your kind touches were before you assumed the duties of the Ministry of Agriculture, as you presented to the Hermon Reserve, and today, through the opening of the Green Project office in Rashaya, you are dedicating the Ministry of Agriculture’s support for Rashaya, by providing services to farmers and helping them reclaim their land and benefit from it. We in the Rashaya Al-Wadi Municipal Council, in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, pay great attention to this vital sector due to the fertility of the land in Rashaya and the abundance of land suitable for agriculture, so artificial ponds are under construction, and work will begin on them in a few days. We have rehabilitated many agricultural roads and provided facilities for farmers to reclaim their land and planted approximately two hundred thousand seedlings of trees, especially pine trees. As for you, Your Excellency Minister Wael Abu Faour, you who have made public service a message and taught us that serving people is an honor and a responsibility, how many projects were born at your hands, how many regions have risen through your efforts, and how many citizens have found hope in you. You were the voice of truth and the support of the weak, so your work was a covenant to the nation, not a fleeting promise. You planted confidence where it was absent and instilled hope when frustration prevailed, so your name was hope and your voice was a promise.”

For his part, the head of the Union of Qalaat Al Istiklal Municipalities, Yasser Khalil, said: “I am pleased to stand before you today at this event, the opening of the agricultural center in our region, which we consider an essential step towards supporting farmers and strengthening the local agricultural sector. We hope that this center will provide technical services and agricultural guidance, to be a source of support and guidance towards modern and sustainable agriculture.”
He added: “We believe that advancing agriculture is advancing society, and that the farmer is the basis of our food security and economic stability. This center will be a starting point for providing assistance, training, and technical support to every farmer who seeks the best production in a way that preserves the environment and increases the quality of crops. And reclaiming the largest areas of land in the region.”
Khalil concluded: “We extend our sincere thanks to His Excellency Minister Nizar Hani for his continuous support and interest in developing the countryside and agriculture in all regions, and we also thank all the parties that contributed to this project, which we aspire to be a model to be emulated, and we especially thank His Excellency MP Wael Abu Faour for his diligent efforts to secure service centers in the Rashaya region, and we thank everyone who contributed to the success of this project.”

For his part, the head of the Union of Jabal Al-Sheikh Municipalities, Nizam Muhanna, said in his speech: “I am honored to stand before you today representing the Union of Jabal Al-Sheikh Municipalities, on this purposeful occasion that brings us together around a fateful issue, which is the issue of the environment, which is no longer an intellectual luxury or a fleeting slogan, but has become the cornerstone in building sustainable and responsible development.”
He added: “The Green Project is not just a title for an environmental initiative, but it is a reflection of a real will among our youth and institutions to work for a cleaner future, and a more balanced and just environmental reality. In the Union of Jabal Al-Sheikh Municipalities, we place environmental issues at the heart of our priorities. We work to support every initiative that plants awareness, plants a tree, and reduces pollution, because we believe that preserving nature is a collective responsibility that begins with the simplest behaviors and extends to public policies.”
He concluded: “Allow me to express my deep gratitude to all partners and organizers, and to every hand that worked and contributed to this project, especially the people of this region who have proven that the spirit of belonging is measured by action, not words. I invite you all to make this project a starting point, not an ending point, and to continue the path of cooperation towards a clean environment, a more aware society, and a future we are proud of.”

For his part, the head of the Administrative and Executive Committee of the Green Project in Lebanon, Engineer Raymond Khoury, said: “I am honored to welcome you today to the opening of the new branch office of the Green Project in Rashaya, a new station that we add to the chain of our offices spread throughout the Lebanese governorates to be closer to the people. Rashaya, this town that carries in its history a national symbol of freedom and independence, we want it today to also be a symbol of productive and sustainable agriculture.”
He continued: “Since the establishment of the Green Project in 1963, it has been the executive body of the Ministry of Agriculture in land reclamation projects, water harvesting, the establishment of mountain and earthen ponds, the construction of agricultural roads, and the development of irrigation networks. Over the decades, the Green Project has proven to be a fundamental pillar in achieving rural development and enhancing food security in Lebanon.”

For his part, MP Abu Faour expressed his thanks to Minister Hani for this initiative, saying: “We accompanied you and His Eminence the Mufti in a meeting we held in Al-Bireh with the farmers, where this meeting was preceded by another initiative in the agricultural guidance center in Al-Bireh, which is a guidance meeting about pruning, but also providing some equipment to the farmers, and this is one of the few times that the citizen or farmer feels that the state’s hand extends directly to give, not to take.”
Abu Faour continued: “In the shadows of Mukhtara, Mukhtara Kamal Jumblatt, Walid Jumblatt, and Teymour Jumblatt, this Mukhtara that gave this region an identity and gave it belonging and bestowed upon it development, this Mukhtara that shaded Rashaya and Wadi al-Taym planted institutions, all the institutions that help the citizen feel a part of his citizenship. We meet to open the Green Project center, the goal is simply, Your Excellency Minister, the opportunity to thank you for this initiative, to thank Professor Raymond, and also to thank you more broadly for this sophisticated representation that you represent for all Lebanese, and we are among them.”
Abu Faour added: “The main goal of it is to try to launch an initiative or an agricultural renaissance in the Rashaya region. Whoever enters Rashaya and comes to Rashaya, all of Rashaya, the Rashaya region and its district, feels the absence of trees and the absence of green cover. This matter has its historical reasons, emigration, the state that attracted the public sector, and a large number of the people of the region left the region, and its people left the agriculture that many of our people and many of our ancestors lived on.”
He said: “The broad ambition is for Rashaya to return to being green, and that this center can serve this agricultural renaissance. First, it is good, Professor Raymond, that you clarified that the center is a center for receiving inquiries, receiving applications, and making decisions on them. This means that we do not need to go to submit the center and return to take the application to Zahle or any other place.”
He continued: “Thank you, Your Excellency Minister, for approving the loan and to the Parliament, even though some of my fellow deputies were hostile to you without knowing the meaning of this loan. There is a large amount that has been provided to the Ministry of Agriculture to establish agricultural ponds, secondly for water tanks, thirdly for agricultural cooperatives, and fourthly for guarantees, meaning that the farmer, in his individual capacity or the agricultural cooperative, has the right to come and submit a request for a water tank or a request for an agricultural pond or a request for agricultural canals or others, because we cannot actually talk about developing agriculture if these things are not done.”
He added: “Thanks to all the former heads of municipalities and the former mukhtars for all their efforts. This time, we were fortunate to have active municipalities, active heads of municipalities, active mukhtars, and active unions of municipalities. The goal is that we and them, in every village, at a minimum, there should be one or two or more ponds because we are going to a drought and more than a drought. The bird will thirst, and the animal and the tree as well, and soon the human may thirst, thirst in the sense of thirst, not in the sense of water scarcity, if ponds are not established, and the heads of municipalities realize this matter, and there are many requests that have already been submitted to the ministry, we must secure ponds and tanks and canals and new irrigation systems, and there must be guidance on new crops, and Your Excellency knows more than me about this matter.”
Abu Faour hoped that “this center will push us one step forward, receiving requests, making quick decisions on requests, and entering us into a new agricultural phase in the region, and I think we need to sit down, we and the municipalities and the agricultural cooperatives, which also have a fundamental role, we agree with them on the plan of action and what the priorities are in the region, and His Excellency the Minister is present and we are present.”

In his speech, Hani said: “I would like to express at the beginning of my speech my appreciation for all the efforts that are being made to advance the agricultural sector in Lebanon, this sector that remains, despite all the challenges, the pulse of the land and life, and the cornerstone of food and social security in our homeland. The Ministry of Agriculture is working today on clear foundations aimed at building a productive and sustainable agricultural sector, based on science, keeping pace with development, and ensuring a decent life for the Lebanese farmer.”
Hani added: “In this context, we have identified five main axes that constitute a roadmap for our work:
1. First – Promoting scientific research:
By redrawing the agricultural map of Lebanon, to determine the most suitable crops for each agricultural region according to its climatic and natural characteristics, and ensuring rational management of resources and production.
2. Second – Developing the capabilities of farmers:
Through the National Agricultural Registry, which constitutes an accurate database, and agricultural extension programs that keep pace with farmers and help them adopt modern and sustainable practices.
3. Third – Developing agricultural infrastructure:
Especially in the areas of water and packaging, through the establishment and encouragement of agricultural collection centers (Aggregators) in production areas, to raise the quality and enhance the added value of Lebanese products.
4. Fourth – Connecting farmers to markets:
This is done through contract farming, which allows the farmer to deal directly with manufacturers and marketers inside and outside Lebanon, in a way that guarantees the disposal of production and the stability of income.
5. Fifth – Integration between agriculture, energy, and water:
We are working to promote the concept of sustainable agriculture integrated with the environmental, energy, and water sectors, in order to achieve production that preserves the environment and faces the challenges of climate change.”
Hani continued: “These five pillars aim in essence to establish a clear agricultural database, to adopt a scientific approach in planning and production, and to enact laws that stand by the farmers in the face of disasters and agricultural damages, in addition to developing a social and health benefits system befitting the Lebanese farmer. This work cannot be achieved except through integration between the partner ministries: Environment, Energy, and Water on the one hand, and the Ministries of Social Development and Labor on the other hand. We believe that agriculture is not just a profession, but a message and belonging, and it is the way to the steadfastness of people on their land, the revival of the Lebanese countryside, and the strengthening of the productive economy.”
He concluded: “Agriculture remains the pulse of the land and life.”

In conclusion, the curtain was lifted from a plaque with the name of the Green Project at the entrance to the Rashaya Municipality building, where the Green Project office is located.
This was followed by a tour by Minister Hani and MP Abu Faour to the project to establish a large artificial pond for the town of Al-Aqaba in the Jeb Farah-Ezz Al-Arab area.