Seeking integration at home and abroad

  In 2015 Lebanon’s agriculture sector witnessed several setbacks. Prior to the Syrian crisis, the sector had been picking up steam – exports of raw produce and agro-industrial products were increasing quite rapidly. The disruption of transit routes raised the cost of land transport – a change of route and the paying off of militias – until March 2015 when all borders connecting Lebanon to the Gulf market were closed. The food safety campaign also affected consumer confidence – particularly in dairies. But potential new markets present an opportunity to diversify exports away from an increasingly competitive Gulf market. Executive sat down with Maurice Saade, Lebanon’s country representative to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, to find out more. E   What is the thinking behind subsidizing agriculture exports by sea – putting trucks on ships rather than packing produce in containers? Well, the thinking is that