Daniel Kaufmann is the director of global programs at the World Bank Institute and a noted researcher on issues of governance. On the occasion of his visit to Lebanon, he talked to Executive about the World Bank’s work to enhance governance, reduce corruption and alleviate poverty.

Is your visit to Lebanon part of a regional tour, or was it purposely scheduled?

It was purposely scheduled because of excellent discussions we had with the minister of finance [Jihad Azour] during the annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF [in September]. My visit is a follow-up to that. I don’t believe in regional tours for tours’ sake, I go only to places where there is a possibility for concrete help and work.

The World Bank categorizes nations into four brackets in terms of governance indicators. Knowing that you said you are not an expert on Lebanon, which policy recommendations tend to be the most important for a country situated in the lower middle bracket of achieving good governance, as Lebanon is?

Lebanon has a set of viable institutions. This is not a failed state, of which there are some. Lebanon has institutions and human capital. The range of issues in this type of country is the following.

One, we discuss the whole regulatory framework. Are there too many excessive regulations? This is usually associated with a lack of governance, monopolistic power, capture of state, and more corruption. 

Second, procurement. What are the vulnerabilities in terms of procurement and what reforms are required in that area?

Third, and related, is transparency. In all kinds of different realms, including procurement, transparency is very important. But transparency also relates to full disclosure of assets of politicians, of judges, public officials and their dependents.

Fourth is public finance, the issue of the budget. Are all public expenditures transparent through the budget, or are a lot offline? Are there issues of governance in tax collection? These are the broad areas that apply almost everywhere in countries with this type of challenge. In terms of specific issues, more research is required.

One peculiarity that participants also were alluding to in yesterday’s discussion is that data collection in Lebanon seems very weak and that even some high-ranking decision makers treat data in a very liberal fashion.

Let me say three things about that, because it is very important. Point number one is that data needs to be treated very cautiously anywhere in the world. This is not only about governance but also about investment climate and many other issues, and applies in some cases particularly to official data. 

The second point is that precisely because we are aware of that [need to be careful about data] we use different techniques to gather data from many different organizations, including international organizations. We have reasonable confidence that this data can be used with the caveat.

The third point is that there is not always objective criticism. It is not uncommon that a minority has a vested interest in criticizing data. It is what we call shooting the messenger. Nobody complains about our numbers if one is doing okay. When we come out with our numbers on governance, we have never heard criticism from officials in a country where things are improving. It is a one-to-one correlation as to where the criticism comes from. Let me rest my case there.

You were also discussing myths to debunk when discussing anti-corruption strategies. Of the myths about fighting corruption, is there one that you consider the most important to unravel?

The most important one to get rid of at the generic level is a bullet message: one does not fight corruption by fighting corruption. Corruption is a symptom of significant weaknesses somewhere else and one has to understand the issues of governance. That is why I mentioned those policy points. The myth that one can fight corruption by fighting corruption can be unbundled into sub-myths, such as [that it is effective to] throw another institution at the problem. It is very easy to create another anti-corruption commission or adopt another decree against it, do another campaign.

Does that mean that more stringent laws and higher penalties would not be key measures?

Setting of higher penalties is fine. The problem is the incessant drafting of laws which may or may not get adopted. Obviously having tougher penalties within reasonable limits – we don’t believe in people being executed because of corruption – is important. It is the drafting and thinking that the law needs to be improved.

Most every country in the world has decent laws against corruption. The problem is that they are not implemented effectively. Getting away from a state that is monopolizing who can have the dealership of such and such company, or a radio or TV or newspaper and who cannot, those are the much more difficult issues than creating another commission.

Research into human behavior that you quoted yesterday seemed to indicate that people are more inclined to act in a moral way when they are watched then when they are not. Do you advocate monitoring as key measure for inducing governance and better behavior?

The expression is that sunshine is the best disinfectant. We are not talking about monitoring but we are talking about transparency. Transparency in my view is a much more effective tool of policy and sometimes a substitute to other regulations. Having all kinds of procedures and regulations sometimes can create even more corruption. Instead, let’s have sunshine – if for no other reason that first you start rating the cost of corruption through the reputational risk.

In some countries, where politicians and others don’t care, the question of reputation may not matter. But it increasingly matters internationally in the competitive world. It matters for investors; it matters for the electorate, and so on.

Is improvement of governance a realistic possibility or is it a dream? Is human nature per se corruptible, or do you believe that human beings could be different from the corrupted?

Of course I believe in that, otherwise I wouldn’t be doing what I do. There is no question that you will never get rid of corruption. The challenge is to move from a situation where there is a systemic, endemic or even pandemic – not here but in some other countries – corruption to another stage where corruption is still widespread but not endemic or pandemic, and then to where it becomes individual. In a country like Norway, there is corruption. But it is individualized and is the exception, and when it comes to the light, it is a real scandal and penalties may be applied.

So, although you said yesterday that improvements of governance on the whole have not been strong over the past ten years, you have seen progress.

We have seen how countries have managed to make progress. What better example than to show that some countries are doing very well, even among emerging economies? That is why I bring in my own country, Chile. Singapore and Hong Kong were extremely corrupt only 20, 25 years ago. They have contained it. England took longer. It was a very corrupt country years ago, now it is doing very well. In Eastern European countries, the evidence speaks [of governance improvements] in countries like Slovenia and even in Africa. Botswana has better ratings than some countries in southern Europe.

Between public sector corruption and petty corruption in the public sector, how important is corporate corruption on your map of problems?

It is very important. The crucial issue with corporate corruption is how corporate corruption affects public corruption. More important than fraud within a company or between two companies is the collusion between the private and the public sector. Bribery takes two to tender, a briber and a bribed. Very often we are finding out that it is not the public official who is always extorting from the private sector. Some very powerful private interests sometimes capture the politician or the public official; in that case they have an enormous responsibility.

The Middle East has many autocratic regimes. How well can autocratic methods function in defeating corruption and inducing change in governance?

On the Middle East, you are the expert. What we find on average and on balance worldwide is that a country that gives more voice and freedom of expression and has also more transparency, is better able to control corruption. Of course that is not the only thing that matters. Countries can make very significant efforts through other means, through rule of law, transparency of budget.

But there is no evidence in the data that autocratic governments do better in fighting corruption than democratic ones. On average, it is to the contrary. It has to be that the citizens become the auditors of their country. What is the probability in a place like Lebanon that big daddy can be watching everybody? The whole idea of the freedom of expression is creating millions of auditors.

In a definition of governance you described it as a set of traditions and institutions in a country. In this region, religion-based traditions and institutions play a strong role. Can you fit them into your model of governance?

We are mindful of the relevance and importance of the religious dimension. We do not enter it into the data exercise. In part, this is deliberate because we want to remain neutral vis-à-vis religious beliefs. Our approach to what constitutes good governance is a more universal approach. I must say, however, that the World Bank has made a very concerted effort over the past seven, eight years of reaching out to the faith community and to the interfaith community. In all interfaith activism, the commitment to poverty alleviation and the same objectives that we have is extremely strong.

When you presented your evaluation of Lebanon in terms of corruption control, the graph’s margin of error was very large. Why?

Because there are very few sources. The margin of error in a significant way is a function of how many surveys there are. That’s an issue, because a country like Lebanon, a financial center, is not being rated by the World Economic Forum. If a country is jumping aboard the train of globalization, the moment that the WEF, IMD and others cover them, the margins of error start coming down. The first order of business is to be on the radar of all these investment ratings agencies and other large entities. There is nothing worse than being ignored. It is much better to be rated not very well.

In assessing governance in Lebanon at the World Bank, do you find a lot of cooperation from the Lebanese side?

Lebanon is now very interested in these issues of measurement and thinking where one can go in the next stage. But one has to distinguish two things. One is a worldwide measure – the indices on governance. This is all from independent outside sources, that’s why we cover the world. The other is what is needed when a country wants to do something about the problems. There one needs an in-depth study and analysis, and I find that the Lebanese are very open.  

How important is it for you personally to believe in the improvability of governance?

I think that the theme of justice, of alleviating poverty in the world, particularly in emerging economies, and empowering people to take their destiny in their own hands and improve their own welfare, is crucially important. Just giving people the opportunity and the enabling environment of not enormous regulations to be entrepreneurs, to express their views and innovations, that is what motivates me and that is why I work on governance for poverty alleviation. I feel affinity to a place like Lebanon, because I am Chilean. Chile until only about 15 years ago was considered a very troubled place. It was a country that was not living to its potential and not doing all the reforms that were needed. I feel enormous affinity to those type of challenges of the emerging world. I think it is feasible within a realistic timeframe to make enormous progress but it is very hard work, it is political leadership for governance improvement.

The Lebanese flag carrier MEA became embroiled in an embarrassing row over monies owed by the state to German construction firm, Walter Bau AG. A scheduled MEA flight from Istanbul to Beirut could not depart because representatives of the German firm had gained a court order impounding the plane to enforce payment of $7 million owed Walter Bau for highway construction contracts from the late 1990s.

The measure drew sharp criticism from MEA chairman Mohammed Hout who was quoted in newspapers as saying that MEA was a private sector company and not party to the dispute. MEA, one airplane short, had to ferry its stranded passengers via Athens back to Beirut.

The conflict between the German company and the Lebanese state appears to date back to 1997, when Walter Bau had been awarded a contract related to the creation of a proposed toll-based superhighway network under a Build-Operate-Transfer scheme. However, the entire project was shelved by the council of ministers, contracts were cancelled and Walter Bau soon after closed its Lebanon representative office.

The company sought recompense not unlike other international companies that claimed to have been wronged in financial dealings with Lebanon, including another German construction concern, Hochtief AG, which demanded compensation for higher costs it incurred in the rehabilitation and expansion of Beirut airport because of delays and design changes.

Walter Bau’s claim to $7 million was affirmed in arbitration and not contested by the Lebanese government, which just somehow did not get around to settling the amounts. It was only after the seizure of the MEA plane that Lebanese officials insisted that payment of the owed amount had already been authorized.  

MEA on its part would seek from Walter Bau yet to be specified compensation for damages caused by the impounding, Hout was quoted in the Beirut press. Interestingly though, the highly discourteous initiative to impound the Lebanese plane in Istanbul had not originated from Walter Bau itself.

Having fallen onto hard times, the once third-largest construction company in Germany had declared insolvency in early 2005. Much of the firm’s assets had been taken over by Austrian construction company, Strabag, while Walter Bau AG was left with debts of 3.3 billion euro owed to about 20,000 lenders and suppliers. The man who had used the bone breaker method to get Lebanon to meet its obligation was the insolvency administrator charged with satisfying the rights of Walter Bau employees and creditors. 

Banks go shopping

Lebanese banks indeed have their eyes peeled for regional buys. Market leader BLOM Bank last month advanced by a great step towards establishing its foothold in Egypt when it found consent for acquiring Misr Romanian Bank, a joint venture bank owned by Egyptian and Romanian financial institutions.

The kick-off in realizing the acquisition was the decision by Egypt’s state-owned Bank Misr to sell its 33.26% stake in Misr Romanian to BLOM Bank early in October. With a declared goal of buying Misr Romanian Bank in its entirety, BLOM reportedly has the right to withdraw from the purchase agreement if it fails to obtain at least 67% of the Egyptian bank’s shares. However, as the Romanian shareholders with their 49% stake in Misr Romanian have signaled their readiness to sell, according to BLOM general manager Saad Azhari, BLOM should be able to see the transaction, estimated at $100 million, through.  

Misr Romanian Bank had assets of $641 million at the end of the first quarter of 2005. While BLOM Bank was carrying out its due diligence for evaluating the bank in September, expansion-minded First Gulf Bank from Abu Dhabi also showed interest in Misr Romanian but later withdrew from the race.

In the meanwhile, Fransabank also seems to have thrown its heart over the fence in cross border growth. The bank announced in late October that it would be a partner in Capital Bank Sudan, a new Islamic banking venture that would start operations in early 2006, with a focus on investment banking. Fransabank, which also is working on expansion into Syria and Algeria, would own 20% of Capital Bank Sudan.

Third bank on a roll during October was Byblos, which opened a month-long subscription period for a massive rights issue that would double the bank’s share capital from $164.8 million to $329.6 million. The issue, which is open only to existing shareholders, aims to enhance Byblos’ position in achieving readiness for Basel II regulations and provide the group with funds for capital injections into various international subsidiaries, including the Algerian bank Al-Rayan, where Byblos was awaiting approval by Algerian authorities for acquiring a stake of 51%.

Beetroot gets stay of execution

Lebanon’s selective agricultural subsidies have little to do with economic policy and more to do with an antiquated view of crucial food sources, and crude political lobbying. Take beetroot for example. In 1959, a Government decree provided for the subsidization of wheat (for bread) and beetroot (for sugar) because the two were perceived as staples.

“Back then, the notion of food security was not the same as it is today,” said the ministry official, who asked not to be named because he requires permission from the Minister of Economy & Trade to talk to journalists. “The decree was designed to ensure that there was always enough bread and sugar.”

In 2001, the Government abruptly stopped the subsidies, which had reached the staggering sum of $40 million a year for 7,000 hectares of beetroot production, in an effort to cut state spending.  

In 2004, following political and social pressure, the Government agreed to subsidize beetroot production, at $3,000 per hectare for one year only. But then this year, the official said, the Government wanted to again discontinue the subsidies but was forced to eventually bow out again to political and social pressure and agreed to subsidize beetroot production from 2005-2007, reducing the total by roughly 30% each year, in a gradual phase-out. Thus, in 2006, instead of paying $3,000 per hectare, the Government will pay only $2,000, the following year $1,000, and the following year nothing at all.

The official noted that some grape growers had been asking for subsidies, but so far to no avail. “It’s not really fair,” said Salim Wardy, owner of wine producers Domaine Wardy.  “But since the Government’s policy is to stop subsidization completely in two to three years, what’s the point of trying to get them to subsidize grapes? Vines take several years to come to full fruition and only reach full production capacity in around six. If there is no long-term Government commitment to subsidies, they are of no interest to anyone.”

“I support subsidies,” noted economist Kamal Hamdan, “but a clear definition of the beneficiaries and eligibility criteria is needed so that the subsidies really do benefit the have-nots. On the ground I doubt this is happening.”

No Tamiflu for bird flu

AUB Professor of Agriculture and bird flu specialist Dr. Elie Barbour has told EXECUTIVE that Lebanon is ill–prepared for a probable outbreak of bird flu, while the director-general of Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Walid Ammar, has said preparations for a human pandemic are far from perfect. It could cost the government around $10 million dollars in medicals bills. The cost to the economy and human lives would be higher.

“The Lebanese way of handling things is spontaneous,” Barbour said. “They don’t plan ahead of time. The Ministry of Agriculture doesn’t have a system of cooperation with the Ministry of Health or with the Ministry of Interior – so that the Army can play a certain role. The public sector is talking, not working.”

Barbour said a strain of H9 N2 bird flu – not the kind currently making headlines – was discovered in Lebanon last year after coming from China. “We got it here. This means that the wild bird route that passes over Lebanon has all the potential to pass on the very virulent H5 N1 bird flu strain,” he warned. “I think there is a very big chance it will happen.”

If it does, the financial damage to the poultry sector will be enormous.  Poultry sales in Lebanon are already down 50% – despite the fact that there have been no confirmed bird flu cases here. In the event of an outbreak, the cost of culling Lebanon’s roughly 60 million broiler chickens would be about $150 million, he said.

An employee in Lebanon of Roche, distributors of Tamiflu, an anti-viral drug that can treat the flu, said in mid-October that there was no Tamiflu in Lebanon but that an order had been put in and that the drug was expected by the end of October.

Meanwhile, Public Health Ministry Director-General Dr. Walid Ammar, said that although Lebanon was prepared for possible bird-to-human transmission of the virus, the country was not fully prepared for a mutation allowing human-to-human spread.

He said the Government had put in a request for enough medication to cover 10% of the population. “In rich countries they have enough for 20%-25% of the population,” he noted.

Diamonds in the rough

Lebanon’s profitable diamond industry was lent greater credibility recently when the Ministry of Economy and Trade announced its accession to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), an agreement which controls world trade in rough diamonds.

The KPCS was drawn up in 2002 to prevent conflict diamonds, illegally sold by rebel groups to finance military operations, from entering the legitimate trade. It already imposes strict certification of origin rules on its 45 member countries, which account for 99.8% of global rough diamond production.

Similar import, export and transit regulations now apply to Lebanon’s rough diamond market, and, more importantly, allow it to legally trade rough diamonds with other KPCS countries – something it was previously banned from doing.

“This will raise Lebanon’s international status in the diamond trade,” said Antoine Mghanni, President of the Lebanese Jewellery Syndicate. “It allows us to compete more evenly with Dubai, the only other Arab country to be a KPCS member.”

Although the jewellery industry is Lebanon’s number one export sector, worth some $500m annually, the cutting of rough diamonds is only small-scale. There are currently only a handful of diamond polishers in Lebanon, but the KPCS will allow Lebanese traders, especially those in Antwerp, to start operations in Lebanon.

Yet despite the good news, black clouds hung over Lebanon’s membership.  In early August this year, an NGO called Global Witness complained that Lebanon was importing diamonds from the Republic of Congo (ROC), a country expelled from Kimberley last July for allegedly channeling conflict stones. According to the NGO, Lebanese customs data for February and March showed that $156m of rough diamonds were imported from the ROC. Although no customs official was currently available for comment, the ministry of economy says that the customs data on the Congo imports were overvalued due to a “technical error”, which has now been rectified.

But the affair cast doubt on Lebanon’s credibility. “By trading with a country removed for being in blatant violation of the scheme, Lebanon makes a mockery of the Kimberley Process,” said Corinna Gilfillan of Global Witness.

The hope is that by allowing legal trade with other KPCS countries, such trafficking can be curbed. It now looks as if the local jewellery industry – at least the legitimate one – is set to sparkle some more.

Pirates a go go!

Even by the Middle East’s generally poor standards, Lebanon is notorious for its piracy levels. According to the International Intellectual Property Association (IIPA), the country scores badly on all fronts with an average piracy rate of well over 70%. In Sabra street you pick up a copied film or CD for LL1,000, while in Hamra you enter a shop to choose a pirated computer program game from the catalogue for a mere LL 10,000. According to the IAA, cable piracy is particularly high at a level of over 80%.

However, if it is up to Fadi Makki, Director General at the Ministry of Economy (MoE), the “Beirut Spring” does not just refer to Lebanon’s political arena, but also to an economic clean sweep of the country. During the summer months, the ministry stepped up its efforts to crack down on piracy and counterfeited goods. “In some 50 to 70 raids all over the country,” said Makki, “up to 8,000 products were seized and destroyed.”

CDs, DVDs, computer programs and especially a lot of counterfeited fashion brands, such as Versace shirts and D&G bags were confiscated and destroyed. According to Makki, some 80% of pirated goods are imported, while only 20% is produced locally. “So our main battle lies at the border,” he said.

Sponsored by the international Brands Producers Group (BDG), last May a special telephone hotline, “1739” was introduced, so people can report any suspected forms of piracy. “We have hardly any manpower to perform inspections and raids,” said Makki, “so we rely heavily on incoming calls.”

 According to him, the idea that piracy hurts a country is slowly but surely gaining ground in Lebanon. “Most people argue that Lebanon’s terrible piracy record stands in the way of entering the WTO, which is true,” said Makki. “But there are a number of important reasons why we should fight piracy. It reduces tax revenues, discourages foreign investment, and perhaps most importantly, it is bad for the local industry. As soon as people realize that locally produced goods just cannot compete with cheap pirated brands – and so cracking down on piracy is good for Lebanon – I’m sure more and more calls will come in.”

EDF helps people help themselves

Its board of trustees may read as a “who is who” of the Lebanese business community, the Entrepeneurial Development Foundation (EDF) is a non-profit organization that promotes entrepeneurship among Lebanon’s poor and underprivileged, especially in the country’s rural areas. Established in 1999, the EDF offers training to improve knowledge and skills on how to start up and manage a business, as well as soft loans to graduates able to come up with a sound business plan.

“Traditionally, micro-credit programs do not offer leans worth more than $2,000, while we go up to $10,000,” said EDF’s chairman Nabil Sawabini, who is also CEO of the MENA Capital, an investment group specialized in private equities and real estate development. “What’s more, we offer not 1 year, but 3 to 4 years to pay back the loan and an effective interest rate of not 24% to 36%, but 15% per annum. So, we are not a micro-credit program in the strict sense of the word.”

Call it as you like, the EDF’s business approach of aid and the notion of helping people help themselves has so far proven extremely successful. Since April 2000, the EDF has trained 865 people and helped to establish 62 businesses, 60 of which are still operating. Some $300,000 has been disbursed, while over $100,000 is pending regarding files in process. “Less than 0,5% of the loans did not return,” said Sawabini.

Still, the EDF’s biggest challenge is funding. “We offer 8 training programs a year, of which we recently managed to reduce the cost to some $8,000,” said Sawabini. ”Our administrative costs are some 20-22% of the annual budget, which is not much, as many NGO’s go up to 35%, but that money has to come from somewhere.’

So far, the funding mainly came from international agencies such as Mercycorps, regional businesses and the trustees’ own pockets. Since the start of this year however, the EDF came up with a very original solution. “All Lebanese banks have to keep a minimal reserve at the Central Bank, an amount over which no interest is paid,” Sawabini explained. “We’ve agreed with one bank and the Central Bank that a portion of this can be used for our program.” 

The experiment started successfully with one bank early this year and will be continued with a second bank in the near future, which enabled the EDF to more than double its annual budget. “And if all things work out,” Sawabini concluded, “it will allow us to double the budget every year over the next few years, as existing bank will increase their contribution and others will be added.”

Argent comes to town

Despite continuing, often violent, political turmoil in Lebanon, and the absence, for the moment, of any clear move in the direction of telecom sector privatization, the New Zealand-based telecoms company Argent Networks, providers of billing and customer service solutions for fixed line, wireless, broadband and next generation telecommunications companies, are, in $250,000 move, setting up a regional Middle East and Africa office in Beirut, as they seek to create a foothold in the region.

“We’re looking to get a piece of the action here,” explained Argent Regional Manager Ziad Basha. “Lebanon has a good pool of technical resources which need support.”

The company has also opened a small representative office in Dubai.

Argent has just signed a deal with an Iraqi telecoms company and with Lebanese companies running operators in Africa, is in final negotiations over two other contracts, and expects to sign a few more in the coming months.

Basha said Argent hoped to acquire a 20%-25% share of the regional billing market – its core business – over the next few years.

He said competition would come mainly from similar companies in Dubai.

Telecoms observers and analysts are cautiously supportive of the move. “The telecoms sector in Lebanon and the region has huge growth potential,” said telecoms consultant Kamal Shehadi. “We’re closer to the start of the process of privatization because the Government has made it clear that’s what it wants to do, and I don’t see any opposition. But let’s be clear. This is not something that will happen at the push of a button.”

“I think it’s the right move,” said Notre Dame University Economics and Finance Professor and telecoms specialist Louis Hobeika. “It’s a good thing to be here when the situation improves. I believe it’s the right timing. You need to be here in advance. The telecoms situation here is going to pick up when tariffs are lowered and the regulatory authority is set up. But all of this has been delayed.

“I think it’s more the right time for the region than for Lebanon,” he went on. “The sector will grow fast in the region, especially in developing sectors.”

 Of Argent’s Iraq venture, he said: “Iraq has lots of problems. Not now, but when things do quiet down, it will be a good investment.”

Lebanon, too, is not free of problems acknowledged Basha. “There are problems with the political situation, with plans to liberalize and privatize the sector,” he said. But he added: “I still think it’s the right time to set up the office. And remember, we’re concentrating on the region as a whole.”

Basha said the Beirut office should be functional in early November. 

Forget Fast Food, Go Slow!
As McDonalds is to many people the ultimate symbol of globalization, it
comes perhaps as no surprise that it is the food sector that launched a
counter offensive under the name of Slow Food. Founded in 1986 in Italy,
Slow Food is an international non-profit organization in defense of
bio-diversity and “eco-gastronomy.” Among other activities, it records plant
species and animal breeds at the edge of extinction, as well as protects
outstanding food products and traditional production methods.
Recently, the first Lebanese item, the Darfiyeh cheese, was added onto the
Slow Food list of authentic food of outstanding quality. Ripened for six
months in salted goatskin, the cheese stems from the northern areas of
Mount Lebanon. The problem for the Darfiyeh, as for any other local
specialties in Lebanon or the rest of the world, is that it is extremely
difficult to compete with mass produced cheeses.
“Of course the recognition is important,” Kamal Mouzawak, Slow Food’s
representative in Lebanon and one of the founding father’s of the weekly
ecologically sound “Souk al Tayeb” in Saifi. “It is the recognition of
tradition and quality. But that’s only the beginning. With the help of Slow
Food we will bring in sponsors to preserve the cheese and bring it onto the
market. For example, by bringing in some experts in the field of marketing.
Most people do not know this cheese.”
The Rene Mouawad Foundation has started a program to help the farmers to
increase production of the cheese, as well as aid some 200 goat herders who
supply the milk.
If it’s up to Mouzawak, the Darfiyeh Cheese will not be Lebanon’s last Slow
Food listing. He has already proposed a special Chouf labneh and Baalbek
cheese which is ripened in terracotta jars. Bon appetitit!