The minister of agriculture, Abbas Mortada, sounded the alarm bell on food security in the country. Speaking in an interview aired on Al Nashra TV, Mortada explained that the crisis is the outcome of years of deterioration in agriculture. He underlined the need to urge people to cultivate their lands, and warned, “If the fields and grasslands were not cultivated entirely, we are going to face a drastic shortage of food in the coming months and years.” He revealed a plan which is currently under deliberation to provide support for land reclamation and the possibilities for farming, the minister said. It is worth noting that the Ministry of Agriculture presented to the government at the end of April an agricultural emergency plan to increase local production in order to achieve food security and to maximum self-sufficiency. (Al Diyar, May 11, 2020)