The agricultural sector is considered a productive and important sector in the Lebanese economy. Agriculture also provides job opportunities in rural areas and a major source of income.

For this reason, the university has put all its capabilities in serving the agricultural sector for free, based on its belief that achieving food security can only be achieved through concerted efforts between the relevant institutions and ministries, and confirming this, the Islamic University in Lebanon, represented by the university president, Professor Dr. Dina Al-Mawla, signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation Joint with the Ministry of Agriculture represented by His Excellency the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Abbas Mortada.

This memorandum aims at joint cooperation in several fields such as scientific research, training, knowledge transfer, and the development of joint activities in the interest of the public. In addition to conducting awareness sessions and seminars in all fields related to the Ministry of Agriculture for university students; The Ministry of Agriculture expressed its willingness to provide vocational training and joint scientific research to students. And in the establishment of lectures and workshops developed in coordination between the two teams.

The Faculty of Engineering at the Islamic University presented several projects to support food security; The students presented their innovative projects directly and closely related to agricultural wealth support to His Excellency the Minister of Agriculture and his accompanying delegation. The first project included the idea of ​​studying the most appropriate geographical space for planting 16 types of fruit trees in the South Lebanon region, this project will help reduce the impact of human error. In the use of natural resources through a scientific assessment that allows the matching of land with its capabilities and thus enables the development of agricultural management and the promotion of investment, leading to the quality of production.

As for the second project, it is related to the use of artificial intelligence and modern technologies to help farmers irrigate and monitor crops in the best way and with the least amount of water, and to monitor vegetation cover by relying on drones and methods of image processing and analysis.

The Islamic University, represented by its president, Prof. Dr. Dina Al-Mawla, expressed its readiness to implement the idea of ​​the two projects and develop them according to the ministries ’needs and strategies and put the university’s capabilities at the disposal of the Ministry of Agriculture through the memorandum of cooperation signed between the two teams.

These projects have an impact on supporting agriculture and citizen health and are reflected in the national political stability, which requires follow-up efforts to support and improve agriculture and make maximum use of it, and the university seeks to translate these projects and research into reality at the local level. This allows students to participate in promoting agricultural wealth and contributing to its development in the interest of the nation.

IUL in support with the Lebanese Cleaner Production Center, they have sensitized different groups, within the university.

• Training to the students of the Islamic University of Lebanon (IUL).
• Training and Capacity Building with the community

This activity has been targeting industrial, environmental, and financial stakeholders; namely decision-makers in industrial establishments, consultants, national experts, in addition to academic and research institutions. The purpose is to build up skills not only in cleaner production but also in allied fields. The LCPC has succeeded in conducting 59 training courses which targeted participants mainly students, managers, farmers and technical experts from the industrial sector, and employees from the public sector and non-profit organizations.

Training course and capacity building events were held on subjects related to industrial and environmental issues namely the following:

• Performance of energy audits in the industrial sector.
• Implementation of environmental management systems based on CP.
• Advantages of CP in industry.
• CP assessments and their implementation.
• CP methodology and CP options

Within the framework of its support for agricultural production, the university hosted the Lebanese Apple Exhibition on the Lebanese Apple Day organized by the Ministry of Agriculture with the aim of marketing agricultural products in the local and foreign markets on October 5, 2019. University students had a special participation in several activities to encourage the achievement of food security and in support of national production.

Under the slogan of your country’s apples for you and your children, which constituted a serious opportunity for farmers and agricultural cooperatives, to market and sell their products. The Ministry of Agriculture aims, through the organization of national days for Lebanese agricultural products, to contribute to the marketing of agricultural production in the local and foreign markets, and I declare with confidence and pride that Lebanese apples are comparable in quality to foreign apples, and this is what we aspire to in all other countries. Agricultural production sectors, as the safety and quality of agricultural products, are the way to enhance competitiveness and open markets.