The minister of agriculture Ghazi Z3ayter, praised what he termed a self-sustained society, cautioning against wasteful dependence on food import. Z3ayter who was speaking during a seminar entitled ‘development of Lebanese agriculture and its impact on the economy’ at the Socio-Cultural Bassel Assad Center in Baalbek, warned that a nation which manipulates the livelihoods of its citizens can never achieve stability. While lauding the role of the vital pillars of the economy, namely agriculture, industry, commerce and, additionally, the services sector, Z3ayter strongly disapproved the building of an economy which relies exclusively on services. Said sector, Z3ayter noted, is unreliable as is highly influenced by regional changes and can be catastrophic to the overall economy. Hence, he said, the need has risen to revive agriculture, pointing to a new 5-year strategy by his ministry which involves a set of plans. These are: development of the cooperative sector; re-activation of the Cooperative Credit Union and the General National Union of Lebanese Cooperative Associations; support and activation of the National Cooperative Fund for Insurance of the Agriculture Sector against Natural Disasters. The latter, Z3ayter stated, will help ensure the psychological and social stability of farmers who are exposed annually to natural disasters in various production sectors. (Al Mustaqbal, July 17, 2017)