Chehayeb on World Food Day stresses the importance of social protection in alleviating poverty

The Agriculture Minister Akram Chehayeb said that the ultimate goal of agricultural production has always been to control the expansion of poverty and secure social protection. However, “developmental imbalance has led to a drop by 15% in the number of people entirely dependent on this industry for their livelihood,” the minister added, noting that the agriculture’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product barely stands at 7%.” Chehayeb was speaking on the occasion of the World Food Day last Friday in Beirut where he represented Prime Minister Tamam Salam. The event was organized jointly by his ministry and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization FAO on the 70th anniversary of its foundation, and in collaboration with the UN Information Center UNIC Beirut, the Italian Cooperation Office, the Italian Embassy and the Lebanese Food Bank. The ministry’s general director, engineer Louis Lahoud, pointed out that the ministry is fully aware of the importance of twinning agriculture and social protection, as stipulated in the Ministry’s strategy 2015-2019 that “improving the performance of the agricultural sector helps to achieve a sustainable rural, environmental, social and economic development. (As Safir, Al Mustaqbal, October 17, 18, 2015)