In a ceremony held today, the Lebanese Regie for Tobacco launched a mobile application tailored for tobacco and tumbac farmers. This platform facilitates direct remote communication with engineers, experts, and specialized technicians, enabling farmers to consult them and obtain “guidance, solutions, and proposals,” as highlighted by the Regie’s Director General, Nassif Seklaoui.
The event was attended by MP Ashraf Baydoun, the Government’s commissioner and financial controller, officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, heads of tobacco and tumbac growers’ unions, municipal unions’ representatives, and representatives from municipalities in tobacco-growing villages spanning the south, the north, Akkar and the Bekaa regions. Additionally, attendees included representatives from international tobacco companies and sales managers.
Seklaoui described the launching of the app as “a significant leap forward in alignment with modernity and technological development,” serving as “a cornerstone in the comprehensive development strategy” embraced by the Regie.
He emphasized that the Regie has been “one of the first public institutions in Lebanon to adopt mechanization across its administrative, industrial, commercial, financial, and agricultural operations.”
He pointed out that the app "streamlined the crop purchasing process from receipt to the direct transfer of farmers' dues to their banks." The initiative also involved the “mechanization of the archive,” with the most recent development in this realm being applying the tax stamp on certain products. This technology incorporates data that allows the tracking of illicit tobacco products.”
He remarked: "Without the continuous support of His Excellency the Minister of Finance, Dr. Youssef Al-Khalil, and the patronage of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, this institution would not have continued and flourished."
He further commented: "Today marks the launch of the mobile application for tobacco and tumbac farmers, serving as a bridge connecting the farmers with the Regie, our agricultural engineers and correspondents on the one hand, and integrating the latest agricultural technologies on the other hand."
He clarified that the Regie is placing this platform “at the service of over 25,000 farmers on Lebanese soil, as part of its ongoing digital transformation initiative. This move underscores the Regie’s commitment to adopting modern technology across all facets of operations, leveraging it for service enhancement, customer satisfaction, and the realization of sustainable development goals. The app serves as a valuable resource for agricultural guidance and the promotion of sustainable farming practices.”
He elaborated, stating, "This application encompasses services designed to enhance farmers' awareness and develop their agricultural knowledge. Notably, the remote consultation feature allows farmers direct communication with specialized experts and technicians, enabling them to receive instructions, solutions, and proposals to address work-related challenges."
Continuing, he emphasized, “at the Regie, our commitment to supporting farmers aligns with our national, moral and humanitarian obligations. Today, we affirm our support for the resilience of our farmers in the border villages through an exceptional initiative: planting the institution’s lands with tobacco seedlings and providing them to farmers who are unable to cultivate their lands for security reasons.”
He concluded expressing the “gratitude of every farmer, along with appreciation for all those who contributed to achieving this significant leap in the realm of digital technology within the leaf tobacco and Agriculture departments. Special acknowledgment was extended to Intalio, the company behind the application, for their role in making this transformative digital initiative possible.”
Al Mawla
Leaf Tobacco manager, Engineer Abdel Mawla Al Mawla, commended, in his speech, Seklaoui’s pivotal role “in driving forward this project and overseeing its realization.”
He explained that the app plays a crucial role in “reducing the costs associated with communicating with farmers,” “documenting guidelines and instructions,” and enables farmers to ask “direct and specific questions to specialized agricultural engineers, while also following instructions on sound agricultural practices.”
He underscored its significance in realizing "sustainable tobacco and tumbac productivity, along with monitoring the cultivation process from the nursery to delivery."