As part of his tireless efforts to support sustainable agricultural development and strengthen relations with leading initiatives, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Nizar Hani, visited the Antelias region. The visit aimed to review the educational eco-village project and the educational botanical garden, in a step that embodies the Ministry’s commitment to developing environmental education platforms and promoting the culture of sustainable agriculture in Lebanon.
During the visit, Dr. Mark Beiruti gave a comprehensive explanation about the project’s vision and its various stages, focusing on “the importance of the ecovillage as a model educational initiative that combines environmental innovation and modern agricultural applications.” He also accompanied the Minister on a tour of the Educational Botanical Garden, which is considered the first of its kind in Lebanon and constitutes a national platform for preserving plant diversity and an advanced center for education, environmental awareness, and dissemination of agricultural culture.
The visit concluded with the signing of a strategic memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Agriculture and Nature by Marc Beyrouthy and Made by Nature. This memorandum aims to establish a national cooperation framework that enhances modern agricultural extension and supports the use of media, markets and educational platforms in serving and developing the agricultural sector.
This partnership is based on several main axes, including:
• Capacity building and training: Implementing advanced training programs to develop the skills of farmers and cooperatives, and producing scientific and awareness content targeting farmers, youth, and students, in line with the latest agricultural practices.
• Agricultural media and digital communication: producing and broadcasting awareness programs, podcasts, and video clips from within the ecovillage and the botanical garden, with the aim of transferring agricultural knowledge to the widest segment of society and promoting the concept of modern agricultural extension.
• Rural markets and networking: Organizing seasonal markets and exhibitions that directly link producers with consumers, which contributes to supporting the value chains of Lebanese products, from olives and carobs to citrus fruits and traditional mouna.
• The Botanical Garden as a national educational platform: The Botanical Garden is adopted at Made by Nature as a site for school and university visits and environmental and agricultural activities, which promotes environmental education and raises awareness of the importance of protecting natural resources.
Minister Hani stressed that this partnership reflects the Ministry of Agriculture’s orientation towards openness to innovative initiatives that combine science, awareness and the local economy. He pointed out that investing in environmental education and modern extension forms the basis for building a more resilient and sustainable agricultural sector.
This step comes within a comprehensive national vision that aims to build an agricultural society that is more aware and capable of facing challenges, by integrating scientific knowledge with specialized media, and enhancing production and marketing opportunities, in a way that serves humanity and preserves the land.
