Farmers’ demands on the world day of agricultural cooperatives

On the occasion of the World Day of Agricultural Cooperatives, the head of the agricultural section at the General National Union of Lebanese Cooperative Associations, George Constantine Inati lamented the neglect by the government of such organizations and stressed that supporting and developing the cooperative movement is the best approach for reviving the agricultural sector. Addressing the demands of Lebanese farmers, Inati pointed out that agricultural cooperatives stand ready to play their role as mediators between farmers and consumers. Besides, Inati added, they are well equipped to collect and package agricultural produces in preparation for marketing domestically and abroad. He appealed to farmers, co-op organizations and agricultural syndicates to “join forces in order to put an end to the uncontrolled sales of farmers land”, adding that currently one of the key priorities of Lebanese farmers is to benefit from the Social Security Fund. He urged authorities concerned to protect national production warning against including any domestic produce threatened with dumping by imported goods, in any future trade agreement. Finally, he called for the establishment of state-run agricultural cooperative markets to be operated and managed by the cooperatives themselves under the motto ‘from the farmer directly to the consumer’. (As Safir, Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, 5 July 2015)