In collaboration with FAO and the National Council for Scientific Research, CNRS, the ministry of agriculture released yesterday a study entitled, ‘Assessment of risks affecting the agricultural sectors in Lebanon to mitigate disasters and adaptation to climate change’. During the launch ceremony, minister Zeiater said the survey constitutes a fundamental scientific base for the development of a national policy aimed at reducing menaces threatening the sector and work to implement it. This involves reactivating the plan kicked off by the ministry and updating the response plan for disasters and crises developed in 2015 with the cooperation of the Disaster Risk Management Unit at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers affiliated with UNDP. For his part, FAO representative in Lebanon, Maurice Saadeh, explained that this assessment plays a key role in drawing a national agricultural strategy. The economic dimension of these risks, Saadeh maintained, occupies a large part of investments in the sector, in the prevention, adaptation or response aspects. In conclusion, a synopsis of the study was presented which showed that agriculture in Lebanon has always been vulnerable to climate change, diseases, and increased temperatures and precipitation. The study also revealed that with proven climate change and political instability in Lebanon and the region, this assessment serves as a starting point to understand risks involved and improve strategies to manage and reduce those risks. (An Nahar, January 24, 2019)