Improving Farming Agriculture in South Lebanon project

Duration
May 2008 - April 2011 (Extended to December 2011)

Budget
952,014 Euros
(Nine hundred fifty two thousand and fourteen Euros)

Donor
Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo - AECID
(Spanish agency of International Cooperation for the Development)

Implementing partner
Fondation Promotion Sociale de la Culture - FPSC

Other participant
Ministry of Agriculture

Geographical area
Cazas of Hasbaya, Bint Jbeil and Marjayoun (South Lebanon)

Areas of intervention
The Milk sector
The Olive Oil sector

Objective
The general objective is to improve the economic and social conditions of rural populations severely affected by the summer 2006 war in South Lebanon (Cazas of Hasbaya, Bint Jbeil and Marjayoun)

Activities in the Milk sector
Re-operating the Milk Center in Al Kheyam through its rehabilitation and the acquiring of the units that suffered from defects, as well as provide financial support in order to cover operating expenses.
Organizing the system of refrigerated milk through the distribution of individual and collective tanks among more than 250 breeders in the region of Marjeyoun, Bent Jbeil and Hasbaya.
Ameliorating the sanitary conditions of the milk production, and that thru the vaccination program of vaccination and training made in the field of breeding.
Training sessions in the milk sector focusing on three main components: Basic Veterinary Care, Artificial Insemination, Livestock Farming.
Establishing a program for artificial insemination.
Enhancing the cooperatives designed for breeders in order to enable them to manage the center of milk.

>> click here for the whole list of training sessions conducted <<

Activities in the Olive Oil sector
Construction of an olive press in Yarin with a capacity of 500kg/hr (The construction was finished in March 2011 for the 160m2 mill).
Support to olive growers from Rmeish and Yarin.
Providing equipments to 15 cooperatives and agricultural extension for the improvement of the productivity of olive trees (Read about the equipment distribution events held on 22 September 2010 and on 8 March 2011).
Sessions addressed to the farmers regarding the agricultural work in general : fertilization, varieties, plantation, trimming, general agricultural work. (As per June 2011: 1040 olive growers from 28 villages has benefitted from those trainings).
Seminars regarding specialized topics (control of insects and diseases, manual and mechanical harvesting, post harvest…)
Sessions regarding the reinforcement of the role of the co-ops (management, accounting, marketing, olive pressing, packaging and stocking).
The establishment of four “Pilot Orchards” serving as demonstration plot for olive growers.
Distribution of 13,000 olive trees among selected members of the 14 coops of olive growers from Bent jbeil, Marjeyoun and Hasbaya.
Field visits (As per June 2011: 18 practical days of 93 field visits had been done by the expert Roland Andary, benefitting 83 farmers from 16 different villages).

Direct beneficiaries
200 dairy cows’ breeders benefiting from all training sessions and distributed materials and pharmacy kits.
36 Farmers and 1 cooperative (from 21 different villages) will receive the milk tanks and thus benefit from storing their milk and preserve it in good conditions for easy collection and marketing.
The laboratory technician will benefit from training on laboratory quality control procedures, and framers will benefit from milk tests facilities in the laboratory.
All Farmers will benefit from the training on milk analysis in the farms.
Al Khiyam Municipality which will lease the milk centre after its rehabilitation to manage it.
All the dairy cows’ breeders will benefit from milk collection by the mean of the refrigerated truck and also from the marketing services provided by the dairy companies.
2 Milk centre employees will benefit from training on all milk analysis and equipments running.
250 farmers will benefit from the vaccination against foot and mouth disease for 2250 cows.
15 Olive cooperatives from 14 villages will benefit from the equipments’ distribution according to the assessment done.
300 Olive growers benefiting from the training sessions and specialized seminars and courses.
Approximately 400 olive growers will benefit from the pilot orchards, which will serve as demonstration of all professional techniques.
Traps will be implemented in the pilot orchards benefiting around 400 olive growers.
Approximately 200 Olive growers in Yarin region and the neighborhood villages will benefit from the olive press services.
Approximately 235 Farmers benefiting from distribution of around 6,000 olive trees (25trees/growers).

Indirect beneficiaries
The Ministry of Agriculture.
500 families.
Consumers from all the villages will benefit from a better quality of products.
The municipality who will be in charge later on of the milk center after its rehabilitation and the procurement of all the necessary materials and equipments.

Expected results
225 dairy cows breeders in the districts of Marjeyoun and Hasbaya will increase and improve their milk production and their incomes resulting from their activity of breeding.
Increase the value of the milk production thru its sanitary assurances in the milk center.
300 cultivators of olive trees in the South will reduce their production cost and increase their income resulting from the sale of olive oil as a consequence of building an olive press in the region.
300 olive cultivators assembled in 15 cooperatives in the South will improve their farm production.

Some of the results as per end of June 2010:
2944 cows were vaccinated, benefiting 257 farmers from 39 different villages in Marjeyoun and Hasbaya.
131 artificial insemination's services were done till now, benefiting 99 farmers from 31 different villages.
124 echography tests were done