History

Founder and CEO of Comptoir Agricole du Levant from 1932 to 1976 (1900–1981) was Lebanon’s first agricultural engineer trained in France and a key architect of the nation’s agricultural sector. Returning in 1924, he served in the Ministry of Agriculture, co-founded the Society of the Friends of the Tree, and represented Lebanon in the FAO, UNESCO, and the International Wheat Council. Founder and first director of the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (1948–1964), he also chaired leading agribusiness firms such as Comptoir Agricole du Levant. Honored by Lebanon, France, Italy, Syria, and Chile, he left a lasting legacy in agricultural policy, research, and international cooperation.

CEO of Comptoir Agricole du Levant from 1976 to 2022 is a Lebanese agricultural economist, entrepreneur, and academic. Educated in Beirut, Paris, and California, he earned a doctorate from the Sorbonne and led Comptoir Agricole du Levant and regional affiliates. In 1981, he founded the Centre de Recherches et d’Études Agricoles Libanais (CREAL), advancing agricultural research and development in Lebanon. A professor of rural economy and agro-food economics, he has been a member of the Académie d’Agriculture de France since 1985. Honorary Consul of Chile in Lebanon since 1975, he has published extensively on agriculture, rural development, and Middle Eastern geopolitics, earning international honors from France and Chile

CEO of Comptoir Agricole du Levant s.a.l. From 2022 to 2025 Began his career in 1991 alongside his father in the family’s pioneering agribusiness, active in potato, onion, garlic, and wheat production across Lebanon and exports to the Gulf. In 2001, he rebranded the company under his name, expanding into fertilizers, pesticides, and equipment, and became one of Lebanon’s leading agricultural traders. In 2016, he co-founded SAM Agri, specializing in seeds, fertilizers, chemicals, and wholesale raw materials. In 2022, pursuing a vision of building a regional agricultural powerhouse, he acquired Comptoir Agricole du Levant s.a.l., furthering his role in advancing innovation and growth in the Middle East’s agricultural sector.

In 2025, Comptoir Agricole du Levant entered a vibrant new chapter under the leadership of our new CEO " Abdul Ghani Maita " . A visionary leader whose journey began not in a boardroom, but in the very fields CAL has served for generations, he represents the perfect fusion of tradition and transformation. CEO- Having been immersed in the agriculture and farming trades since childhood, our CEO brings a rare "boots-on-the-ground" perspective to Lebanon’s oldest registered company. His leadership is defined by a profound respect for the solid foundations laid since 1921, coupled with an ambitious drive to integrate next-generation technologies into the Levant’s agricultural landscape.