Lebanese PM says Lebanon at risk of a major food crisis

Lebanese Prime Minister has said Lebanon at risk of a major food crisis, Reuters reported.

According to Hassan Diab, the COVID-19 pandemic could trigger a global food security emergency that would put vulnerable countries at risk. 

“Once the breadbasket of the Eastern Mediterranean, Lebanon is facing a dramatic challenge that seemed unimaginable a decade ago: the risk of a major food crisis,” he wrote in the Washington Post.

He urges the US and the EU to establish a special emergency fund to help the region.

“Starvation may spark a new migration flow to Europe and further destabilize the (Middle Eastern) region,” he added.

Lebanon’s currency has collapsed on a parallel market outside commercial banks.