NNA - The Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI) and the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania (MAICh) successfully organized a second LIVINGAGRO B2B event on multifunctional olive systems on 15 November 2022 at Rotana Gefinor Hotel in Hamra, Beirut.
One hundred thirty stakeholders and innovators attended the day-long event, sharing experiences and knowledge and discussing possibilities for future collaboration to improve the olive and olive oil sector. Participants included policymakers, researchers, agricultural engineers and technicians, entrepreneurs and farmers from all the olive growing regions of Lebanon. 

During the morning session, the Lebanese representatives of the LIVINGAGRO Cross Border Living Laboratories for Agroforestry Project offered an overview of the project’s activities and explained the importance of adopting agroforestry in olive orchards. 

After the introduction to the project, innovators from Greece, Italy and Lebanon presented their innovations on olive tree and olive oil authentication, re-using traditional practices in agroforestry, intercropping in olive groves, and recovery and conservation of ancient and traditional olive groves to save the environment and preserve their genetic heritage. 
In the afternoon, the moderator invited questions, then welcomed discussion. Various ideas and possibilities for future collaboration were introduced. The innovators suggested solutions to  specific farmers’ problems and encouraged the attendees to implement innovations in their orchards, since they can improve productivity, reduce production costs, and help the olive and olive oil sector advance.

In summary, the event enabled close connections between research and economic stakeholders and policy makers, as well as providing a chance for stakeholders to become more involved in the LIVINGAGRO project through the project’s ICT platform (https://livingagrolab.eu/). Participants were pleased with the selection of topics discussed, and with the event’s organization.

Co-funded by the European Union through the ENI CBC Med Programme, LIVINGAGRO aims to share innovations related to agroforestry with stakeholders working with olives and grazed woodlands in Mediterranean countries, in order to help them increase profitability, sustainability, and biodiversity in the face of limited resources and environmental constraints.

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