Page 28 - AA 2024

Lebanon

Farmers Benefit from High-Yielding Soft Wheat Seeds and

Training on Good Agricultural Practices for Wheat Cultivation

“Without wheat, we have nothing.
We can’t live without wheat, flour, and
bread says Mohamad Boukdal, a farmer
from Akkar while standing in his field
of wheat.
In December 2023, 2 394 small-scale
farmers across Lebanon received 250
tonnes of high-yielding soft wheat
seeds, distributed in quantities of 50,
100, or 150 Kg per farmer based on the
size of their lands.
Lebanon highly relies on the imports
of soft wheat for bread production,
which renders the country particularly
vulnerable to global shocks and trade
disruptions.
In light of the current economic crisis,
the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO) in Lebanon,
in coordination with the Ministry of
Agriculture (MoA) and the Lebanese
Agricultural Research Institute (LARI),
implements a project funded by the conducted in Menieh-Danieh, Akkar,
Government of Japan. to manage wheat pests such as the
Nabatieh, Baalbeck, Hermel, West sunn pest and the sawflies that feed on
This project aims to enhance food Bekaa, Rachaya, and Zahle. the inside of the stem and cause stem
security and place Lebanon on the path Farmers were trained on good breakage.”
to achieve a degree of self-sufficiency agricultural practices for wheat
in soft wheat production, which would cultivation, including planting, For Hassan, wheat can play a
contribute to improving farmers’ ploughing, integrated pest significant role in the Lebanese
livelihoods, increase the local markets’ management, irrigation, informal seed economic cycle, and it is essential to
resilience and limit the repercussions production, management of storage reach a certain self-sufficiency. Looking
of future supply chain pressures. at his golden wheat field in the Bekaa
pests among other related topics.
For Narjes Saleh, a woman farmer The training was followed by a field valley, Hassan insists, “The cultivation
from Minieh, North Lebanon, this was visit to the wheat demo plots conducted of wheat must be continuous or else we
the first time she grew soft wheat. “We at the Lebanese Agriculture Research will have to import from abroad. This is
are expecting a good yield, and I am Institute, where different varieties of how it should be done.”
hoping to sell the wheat to flour mills,” wheat are tested and evaluated for their
she says with a big smile on her face. Farmers are experiencing significant
yield, grain quality, resistance to pests, advantages by adopting high-yielding
Jack Makhoul, a farmer from North and other important performance soft wheat seeds combined with training
Lebanon, has been cultivating wheat characteristics. on good agricultural practices (GAP) for
with his family since he was young. He
In the wheat fields, farmers and
was happy to receive 50 kg of soft wheat trainers discussed the performance wheat cultivation. This dual approach
seeds, which he is planting for the first of several promising wheat varieties not only enhances productivity but also
time and hopes for a good harvest. promotes sustainable farming methods.
being tested for their high yield and
As part of this project, farmers’ resistance to rust. High-yielding soft wheat seeds
capacities are strengthened on are specially bred to increase crop
good agricultural practices for We benefited a lot from these training yields, providing a more abundant
wheat cultivation and informal seed sessions,” says Hassan Tarchichi, a harvest compared to traditional wheat
farmer from Zahle, Bekaa. He adds,
production. varieties. These seeds are designed
“We learned how to prepare the land,
In June and July 2024, 454 farmers how to plant wheat seeds, what is the to be resistant to diseases, reducing
benefited from technical training for recommended quantity of wheat seeds the need for chemical pesticides and
improved wheat production practices. to be planted per dunum, and the best thereby lowering production costs and
Thirteen training sessions were planting dates. We also learned how environmental impact.
26 Arab Agriculture 2024