Food security in Lebanon difficult to attain 

The minister of agriculture and culture, Abbas Mortada, voiced his concern yesterday over the deteriorating situation where daily bread has become like gold dust under a government unable to meet the demands of its people. Mortada was speaking during the graduation ceremony of some 100 students of the Agriculture School organized by the Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training (LOST) at the agricultural village in Baalbeck. We have set off with good intentions and sailed through crises, facing financial and economic breakdown, Mortada said. He pointed out that food security and food sovereignty have become harder to achieve in the absence of a strong founded national economy. “We have relied on a rentier, unsustainable and unproductive economic system,” he added. “But despite the difficult journey, the government is trying to invent solutions and provide services,” Mortada stated. He expressed disbelief over Lebanon’s signing of agreements to import certain agricultural commodities of which the sector suffers a surplus in production. Pledging to increase subsidized agricultural inputs, Mortada concluded by saying: “The ministry will regulate the importer-to-farmer distribution chain.” (Al Diyar, June 29, 2020)