Roadmap to fixing Lebanon's Agro Sector

As a parliamentary candidate, I take honor in presenting below a roadmap for fixing Lebanon's ailing agricultural sector:

1 - Establishing a committee of experts to study all the problems of the Bekaa like cultivation of drugs, and finding other plantations like kiwi in Houch Sneid, cotton, grains, American football potatoes, apricots, apples in the mountains areas like in Khraiba and Janta and Khoder etc, and putting programs from the ministry of agriculture to let the farmers know, if certain produces are cheaper in Syria, not to plant in Bekaa, and to bring other produces from Italy, France, New Zealand or from countries which has similar environment to Bekaa, or Akkar, or south Lebanon.

2 - Reversing what the Ottoman empire army did till 1920 when they cut all of our trees in the mountains of east and west sides of Bekaa. To achieve this, I would ask the US government and other donor countries to help in realizing this objective. This will help the tourism, provide jobs and reverse the endless influx form rural area to the capital.

3 - Studying the marketability of each produce with the aim of devising an overall plan to help farmers move their efforts in the right direction, and chose the produce which would bring them optimal benefit.

4 - Studying the problems of the animal sector  to improve marketability and costing, especially in light of the fact that the cost animal feed is affected by exclusive dealers who are having an adverse effect on the benefits earned by farmers.

5 - Transforming the agricultural sector from losing money to making money by turning it, like in Turkey, into an oasis of fruits and vegetables. This can be done by erecting dams on the Assi (Orontes)and Litany rivers and selling diesel oil at a cheaper price to farmers who use water wells for irrigation.

6 - Asking world renown tobacco companies to invest in Lebanon's tobacco industry, open factories in south Lebanon and  Bekaa similar to what they did in Romania. In Bekaa, we can plant all the mountainous areas with tobaccos.

7- Encouraging foreign and national investors to build factories in the Bekaa and other needy areas by offering them a tax haven for 10 years. Such areas could be termed 'favorite zones', and should be governed by special laws aiming at attracting investment.

8 - Devising and implementing a marketing plan, with the help of professional agencies, to support the export of Lebanese produces all over the world.

9 - Establishing direct contact with and paying personal visits to farmers in the towns and villages of south Lebanon, Bekaa and Akkar to study their needs and devise plans to help them out.

10 - Locating all over mother earth new plants and trees for Lebanon in general, and for tourism and production in particular.

11 - Bringing new produces to Lebanon like zaafaran from Iran, kiwi from Italy. If we have European partnership, it means we would be able to enter European markets in every possible way , including culture, food, and brain power.

12 - Learning from advanced countries new methods to improve the agro sector, bearing in mind that solving the problem is not by levying more taxes but by creating more jobs through opening factories and agro schools all over Lebanon.

13 - Liberalizing the import of seed potatoes rather than keeping it limited to a few wheeler dealers.

14 - Bringing the best agro technology available in advanced countries and import seeds which can produce optimal quantities.

15 - Building expo markets in all governorates of Lebanon for showing agro produces 365 days per year.

16 - Establishing agro schools to teach the new generation new methods of agro technology, and connect them via Internet to agro technology all over the world.

17 - Studying the need of European and Arab market for what kind of produces they need. For instance, in Europe they like small potatoes, in Lebanon they like big potatoes. So we have to control quality, assess the needs of local market, the international market, and make sure that we make forecasts for each season.

18 - Growing flowers for export and using special refrigerated vans for land transport and special refrigerated planes for airfreight. Using agro airplanes to plant seeds into the mountains so It will be green and this will help tourism in rural areas.

19 - Subsidizing farmers for raw material used in agriculture

20 - Increasing the budget of the ministry of agriculture to  5-10 percent of the budget total.

21- Enhancing scientific research.

22- Establishing three free zone areas in Riyak, Kulaiaat and in south Lebanon.

23 - Appointing agro attaches in all Lebanese embassies to enhance exports.

24 - Looking for exotic fruits from all over the world and adopt it in Lebanon.

25 - Setting a 10-year plan for planting our empty mountains with trees from all over the world. Lebanon is a tourist country but needs a lot to be done. We need to decorate empty mountains, streets and valleys. We need to beautify lakes, rivers, waterfalls, parks, and so forth.  We need to see tourist in all our cities and villages. Gulf people come to spend their money in certain areas, but not in south Lebanon or Bekaa valley or Akkar. We have to change that.

26 - Encourage visiting Lebanese emigrants to bring along a tree and plant it in Lebanon. Lebanon and the tree are friends Since 6000 years. Let us keep it this way.

27 - Transforming Lebanon into a hub for tourism, with special focus on religious tourism.