Lebanese Professor awarded for pioneering program at Expo Milano 2015

Beirut on September 1st, 2015

As part of the special activities it is hosting at the Expo Milano, showcasing the real face of Lebanon and within the strategic direction of the Lebanese State to support pilot projects in the agricultural sector, encouraging the creation of innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges facing the global food security, the Lebanese Pavilion in Expo Milano 2015 invited both Dr. Essam Bashour, leader of the scientific nutrition program at the faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences at the American University in Beirut, and Mr. Rami al-Husseini to Milano to attend the awards ceremony of the competition launched by the Feeding Knowledge Program (FPK). The program leaders received Lebanon's award from the Prince of Monaco and the director of the Expo Milano 2015 in the presence of officials from the Lebanese Pavilion.

The findings of the Lebanese project were presented to the FKP competition, which was founded by the organizers of the Expo Milano 2015 in collaboration with the Institute of High Agricultural Studies (CIHEAM) in Bari and the Technical Institute in Milano, in the framework of pioneering activities rolled out by the exhibition and its endorsement for achievements and leading scientific projects from all over the world. The No-Till project was funded by Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).  Last year, the National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS) invited researchers in Lebanese universities and research institutions to submit research projects and compete in the International Call for Best Practices in Food Security. Professor Bashour (FAFS/AUB) designated his Conservation Agriculture project for participation. A year later, the jury picked the project as one of 18 Best Food Security Practices chosen from 750 other participants.  

The World Expos chose Milano for their 2015 event, and adopted the theme "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life". It focused on sustainability and food security, and was heavily engaged in spreading the message of awareness about limited resources in an ever increasing world population. 

The Feeding Knowledge program sought to use today's vast arsenal of communication tools and its state of the art facilities to gather the innovative capabilities of many international researchers, and provide a platform to share their expertise in the fields of food security and sustainable resources. Many of the Millennium Goals formulated by the UN resonate with those of the Feeding Knowledge program, and have been echoed by many governmental and private institutions, reflecting a universal awareness of global concerns, the most basic of which is food security.

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is a practice that literally aims to conserve the most essential resources, soil and water.  In a nutshell, it is a farming technique that uses crops and the husks of prior crops, all year around, as a cover to protect the soil from rain and wind. Instead of using a plow to turn the soil and expose it to erosion, CA adopts a No-Till approach. The practice of No-Till has always been present in the culture of the farmer, but it relied on leaving the land to rest, without usage. A solution that is no longer sustainable due to the need to maximize the amount of cultivated land, and which has led to excessive plowing and excessive use of chemicals. The high amounts of farm chemicals contaminate underground water sources. Hence a vicious circle develops and the loss of soil is nurtured by a loss of drinkable water and insufficient crop yield, a hallmark of the modern threats to Food Security. 

To sum up this experience in a few personal impressions: "The awards ceremony took place at the Italy pavilion, in sleek Italian pomp combining modern simplicity and renaissance style. Outside the pavilion, the Expo was a marvel to see. The state of the art facilities, ingenious designs and sky high budgets left us breathless. Some pavilions had even hired consulting firms, to handle the PR and ensure the smooth running of their exhibit. It's no surprise as a pavilion is the country's face to the world during the Expo. We managed to find the Lebanese pavilion which, just like our project, had a brilliant potential and a small budget. It was tucked away in a group called the Bio Mediterranean Cluster, a generous offer from the Expo organizers, who contributed the furnished offices and exposition space in order to have Lebanon participate. The Ministry of Economy and Trade manages the Lebanese pavilion, and periodically sends a team of its own to man it, in addition to the restaurant hired locally and owned and run by Lebanese. The team members at the Lebanese pavilion were very happy and proud to learn about the award which Lebanon won and welcomed us to a tour in the pavilion and the delicious food that was prepared in the pavilion.  It was truly elating to share our win with our own. "

"The sweltering temperatures during that heat wave in the first week of July accompanied by the suits we were wearing, accentuated the oasis quality of the Lebanese pavilion.  Our meeting was spontaneous. No official communication between the involved Lebanese agencies had taken place, and no collaboration was projected.  The Lebanese pavilion team members were genuinely surprised, they were remarkably kind and they shared the same pride in winning the award for Lebanon."

The next Universal Fair, Expo 2020, will take place in Dubai, and if that potential in both our Conservation Agriculture project and the Lebanese Pavilion, be it in research or in the Lebanese way of life, translates into fact, we will undoubtedly have another winner from Lebanon!"

-Ends-

© Press Release 2015