Press Release

FAO Iraq supports livestock breeders and farmers with forage seeds in Nineveh

31 October 2022

31 October 2022, Nineveh, Iraq– The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Iraq held a ceremony in Bashiqa district in Nineveh to continue supporting livestock farmers with forage seeds to more than 160 farmers and livestock breeders. The cultivation of fodder in the past two years has contributed to increase in milk productivity in quantity and quality, as part of the European Union’s funded project “Support to agricultural livelihoods of rural and peri-urban returnees and communities in Nineveh Governorate”, and in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture.

FAO Representative in Iraq Dr. Salah ElHajj Hassan stated, “farmers in Nineveh have adopted the production of fodder crops cultivation which helped them to mitigate the impact of drought and high feed prices” and he thanked the European Union (EU) for the generous support .It is worth mentioning that many farmers have taken the initiative to purchase their own seeds from the local markets. They were eager to spread the cultivation of forage seeds to reach self-sufficiency.

At the end of the ceremony, a number of farmers and livestock breeders highlighted the important role of FAO in developing their work through the introduction of new techniques that will upscale the agricultural sector and increase job opportunities.

Salah Elhajjhassan

FAO

Representative

salah.elhajjhassan@fao.org

Mr Hajj Hassan, a national of Lebanon, holds a Ph.D. in Plant Production from the University of Agriculture, Damascus, Syria; a Master of Science degree in Plant Production and a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Engineering, both from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.
He started his career in 1984, as Senior Research Assistant in the Agricultural Research and Education Centre (AREC), American University of Beirut. From 1987 to 1991, he was Coordinator of the Student Training Programme, and also Agriculture and Horticultural Teacher for the Faculty of Agriculture, at the Lebanese University.
From 1991 to 1995, he worked as Agricultural Engineer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Bekaa Regional Office, Zahlah and was then assigned to the Agricultural Research Institute in the Tal Amara station, first as Head of the Crop Production Department and subsequently in charge of the Plant Protection Laboratory. From 2002 to 2006, he was Director of the Kfardane Research Station (Agricultural Research Institute). In 2008, he became Visiting Scientist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) and Coordinator of a project with the International Centre for Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna.
In 2010, he served as Advisor to the Minister for Agriculture of Lebanon. In 2011, he became President of the Pesticide Scientific Committee, Head of the Phytoplasma Committee and Director of the Agriculture and Rural Development Programme (ARDP) (EU-funded project). From 2010 to 2013, he represented Lebanon in negotiations with EU, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq. During his career, Mr Hajj Hassan also carried out a number of other functions. He represented the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI) in several research programmes with the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and the American University of Beirut. He was Coordinator of the Mashreq/Maghreb project with ICARDA, representing Lebanon in the Steering Committee, as well as being the Head of the Sugar-beet Delivery and of the Wheat Delivery Committees. For a number of years, Mr Hajj Hassan worked for the preparation of FAO TCP projects and served as the National Director of a TCP project. He joined FAO in January 2014 as FAO Representative in Yemen. Mr Hajj Hassan succeeds Mr El Zubi as FAO Representative in Iraq.

UN entities involved in this initiative

FAO

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Goals we are supporting through this initiative