Joelle Hajjar – Combining Science, Business, and Volunteer Work to Improve Lebanon’s Food Industry

Feb 11 2022

Joelle: 

I am an agri-food engineer. I graduated from Saint Joseph University in Lebanon and also hold a Master’s in Food Security from Montpellier University. After graduating, I started working at our family business, GO Baladi. We primarily work with local shepherds, their families, and women, and do trainings with them [on hygiene, production, and animal welfare]. 

Growing up, my dad was my superhero. [Like me] he was an agri-food engineer and his dream was to have one of his children follow in his footsteps. My brother is an electrical engineer and my sister is a teacher, so I decided to pursue a career in agri-food. When starting out, I was worried about working in this field, but now I love it despite the challenges we face. There are so many opportunities, it’s an amazing sector. I always meet new people with new expertise and I learn a lot from them.