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Lebanese organic cooperative funding boost
09 Jan 2007 09:40:11 GMT
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World Vision Lebanon has secured two different grants for Bio-Coop Lubnan- Lebanon's first cooperative for Organic agriculture, to ensure a much needed boost to their production especially in the aftermath of the conflict last summer.

'Those two grants are a very postive step towards helping BioCoop Lubnan to start seeking for funds on its own, without our help,' said Wajdi Khater, World Vision Lebanon's agriculture coordinator, commenting on the success of his team's written proposal. 'It's a good beginning for the BioCoop's sustainability,' Khater said.


The first grant – an 80, 000 Euros donation -was given by Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture as part of its Agricultural Development Project (ADP). Thank to this grant, BioCoop Lubnan will be able to acquire its own apple juice factory in Besharré, North Lebanon.

The grant will cover some of the building and equipments expenses, including a refrigerated truck along with filtering and filling equipments.
The second grant – a $50, 000 donation – was given by the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR), in response to BioCoop Lubnan's proposal of helping 50 farmers from Aita El Shaeb, in south Lebanon, by establishing an irrigation network of 4,000 square meters of land per farmer.

Aita El Shaeb village is one of the villages that were most affected by the July 06 war on Lebanon. The CDR grant will help mitigate the impact of the last war on farmers in south Lebanon.

Since 2002, World Vision Lebanon, with the help of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), have been gradually empowering BioCoop Lubnan, through strengthening the organic agriculture infrastructure by providing extension, demonstration and training services to BioCoop Lubnan's farmers.

In addition, World Vision Lebanon, with the support of USAID, helped BioCoop Lubnan's farmers become certified as 'organic' by the Mediterranean Institute for Certification (IMC).
The 160 BioCoop Lubnan's farmers are spread in 61 Lebanese villages covering an approximate area of 471 hectares.

Those farmers are reached out through five Extension, Demonstration and Training Centers (EDTC). The five centers are located in the North specifically in Bsharre district, the Bekaa specifically in Zahle district, and the South which encompasses three growth poles namely in East Sidon, Nabatieh/ Marjayoun, and Bent Jbeil.

[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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