NNA - Caretaker Minister of Agriculture, Abbas Hajj Hassan, toured the Chouf region on Saturday, heading a high-ranking delegation from the Ministry.

Hajj Hassan began his tour from Al-Mukhtara Palace, where he was received by the head of the Progressive Socialist Party and head of the Democratic Gathering, MP Taymour Jumblatt, in the presence of MPs Hadi Aboul-Hosn, Bilal Abdallah, and Wael Abu Faour.

Talks centered on the agricultural situation, where Hajj Hassan gave a briefing about the vision of his Ministry and its projects on all Lebanese lands, and listened to some of the problems facing the agricultural sector in Mount Lebanon, specifically in the Chouf region.

Hajj Hassan and his accompanying delegation then toured the Chouf Cedar Reserve, where he was received by its board of directors and a number of its staff who presented the work progress at the reserve. The minister planted a cedar tree in remembrance of his visit.

He later inspected two laboratories for manufacturing olive residue, and a laboratory specialized in manufacturing agricultural fertilizer, which is a substance added to the soil to improve its physical, chemical and biological properties.

Hajj Hassan's last stop in his Saturday Chouf tour was in the town of Mresti, where there was a meeting with farmers, mayors, unions, mukhtars, and activists from the region, and a lengthy discussion on supporting farmers, the farmers’ registry, assisting cooperative work, and also the projects that the Agriculture Ministry is carrying out in cooperation with donor agencies.

=========R Sh.