The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture in Lebanon, in collaboration with the World Food Program (WFP) and the Italian Cooperation, celebrated today World Food Day 2016, under the theme ‘Climate is Changing, Food and Agriculture Must too’. The ceremony was organized at the Al Hay El Gharbi Garden in Aley under the patronage of H.E. Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Akram Chehayeb, and the participation of representatives of the Minister of Energy and Water and the Minister of Environment.
In his speech, Minister of Agriculture Akram Chehayeb stated that “the negative impacts of climate change on food production could get worse if we do not implement adequate policies for sustainable food production and sustained productivity increase”, adding “the negative impact of climate change on Lebanese agriculture could amount to 800 million US Dollars by 2020 and up to 2.6 billion Dollars by 2040.”. He acknowledged FAO’s global efforts in enhancing human and institutional capacities to support the adaptation of the agriculture sectors to climate change and expressed his high appreciation for the Ministry’s partnership with FAO and for the continued support from the European Union, Italy in particular, to achieve the objectives of the Ministry’s strategy for 2015-2019.
The ceremony also marked the International Day of Rural Woman that is celebrated on 15 October every year, whereby a number of agricultural women cooperatives showcased their produce. The event also included the distribution of seedlings of pine trees to all attendees as a symbol of the role of reforestation as an important measure for adaptation to climate change.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) celebrates World Food Day on 16 October each year, the day on which the Organization was founded in 1945. Each year it is celebrated by more than 150 countries worldwide.
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