Lebanon at a glance

Agriculture plays an important role for Lebanon’s food security. The sector makes up around 9 percent of GDP and 4 percent of total employment. The food processing industry contributes to an additional 4 percent, bringing the weight of the agrifood sector to GDP to 13 percent in 2020.

The rural population in Lebanon accounts for only 11 percent of the total but it is poorer than the rest of the population. Agriculture is a major source of employment and income for a large part of the population in rural areas. About 9 percent of farm operators are women involved in subsistence farming.

The crisis in Syria has consequences on Lebanon. The massive influx of refugees since 2011 has been resulting in increased pressure on the country's physical and social infrastructure and had a significant impact on the agriculture and food sectors. In 2024, a common integrated two-year unified Emergency response framework “Lebanon Response Plan 2024” is set in place aiming at delivering a humanitarian-stabilization nexus approach across populations in need.

Additionally, the multifaceted crisis experienced by Lebanon since 2019 have had severe economic and social impacts on the population. Food insecurity has become increasingly acute and widespread since 2019. Agricultural production has also declined due to the economic crisis, impacting the livelihood of the poorest. The high cost of production, dependence on imports for inputs, and limited investment in infrastructure, pose additional challenges to the sector's competitiveness and productivity.

Based on the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) 2023 report, 15 percent of Lebanese are expected to face high acute food insecurity levels in the second quarter of 2024 and consequently need assistance. Nutritional intakes have also been affected, leading to malnutrition as diets shift to cheaper and less nutritious foods, deterioration of diet diversity, and higher exposure to food safety hazards.

According to the Data in Emergencies (DIEM) survey of the Lebanese agricultural households conducted at the end of 2023, twenty-one percent of households reported experiencing moderate or severe recent food insecurity based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES). About 34 percent of households used reduced food-based coping strategies in alignment with Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Phase 2. According to the livelihood coping strategy index, nearly all (96%) households reported adopting livelihood coping strategies to meet their food needs, with the most common being a reduction in expenses on agricultural inputs (90%) and decreased health expenses (74%). Most of these households (88%) are resorting to crisis livelihood coping strategies due to insufficient food or financial resources to support household members. Nearly all (98%) households indicated a need for assistance in the short to medium-term.