Agriculture

CEDARS program -
Valorization of Arboriculture Growing project orchrad


Duration
September 2002 - September 2005

Funding Partners
Cooperative Housing Foundation (CHF)
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Implementing Partners
Lebanese American University (LAU)
Cooperatives of Bazbina, Zgharta, Bekaa

Description
This project worked in close cooperation with the plant nursery of the CAN. The project created a pilot orchard of 435 apple trees in Ehden that provides technical assistance to farmers through: agricultural training, diffusion of new information and technologies, and technical support. These services prove to farmers that adequate cultivation practices undertaken at the right time and conditions reduce costs and increase income.

The project has created a software program, in partnership with LAU, that houses information on each cultivated parcel of land. This gives farmers the capability of visualizing the needs of their orchards.

If a farmer judges that his existing varieties of trees need to be multiplied or that he needs new varieties, he can resort to the plant nursery of the CAN for high quality products at a good price.

Activities achieved
Prunes Training of farmers and diffusion of new information and technologies.
Provision of technical follow-up to farmers throughout all stages of arboriculture.
Collection of detailed data on cultivated lands and storage of it in a software program.
Introduction of new cultivated varieties of fruit and forest trees at reduced prices.
Production of budsticks from the orchards for the budding process at the nursery.
Renewal of non-productive orchards.
Extension services are offered at low prices, including spraying, plowing and fertilization.
The demonstration pilot orchard in Ehden introduces and encourages high-density orchard practices.

Upon the completion of this project in September 2005, 57,000 trees covering 90 hectares had been provided to farmers who were trained in n ew techniques such as spacing, irrigation systems, and pesticide use and received ongoing technical assistance, resulting in doubling of production and a 50% increase in participants' income.

A new project was initiated in February 2006 under the CEDARSplus program, called the Expand Fruit Trees Production project. This new project builds on the success of the project detailed above.