Agriculture in Lebanon
Economy of Lebanon |
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Overview |
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Agriculture in
Lebanon's agriculture, which offers fertile land, landscaped terraces, and fresh and healthy produce, faces several challenges in recent years. Improper agricultural practices leading to
The ongoing economic crisis in Lebanon and devaluation of the Lebanese pound have had adverse effects on the agricultural sector, leading to increased costs for vital imports like seeds and fertilizers. The economic strain intensifies pre-existing difficulties for farmers, encompassing escalating debts and inefficient agricultural practices. As a result, farmers are witnessing a decline in revenues and facing difficulties in meeting their loan repayment obligations.[9]
History
Agriculture in Lebanon dates back to Phoenician times, with the first trading activities taking place in the eastern Mediterranean. The wine making tradition, which has a 5,000 years of history in the region, was a known skill for its ancient dwellers. The Phoenicians tended vineyards, made wine and exported a significant amount to neighboring countries such as Egypt, Greece and Assyria.[10] Although the trading activity was active in that period, however agriculture was not their main source of wealth because most of the land was not arable; therefore, they focused on commerce and trading instead. They did, however, raise sheep and sell them and their wool.
During
In the first half of the 20th century, Lebanon had regained its past agricultural boom, where almost one-fourth of its land had been cultivable (the highest proportion in the Arab world). After the 1950s and the prosperous decades that followed, agriculture faced a decline with the beginning of the
In the early 1990s, the Lebanese government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched an initiative to replace drug crops with legitimate alternatives. The UNDP estimated some $300 million was required for rural development of the Beqaa. Lebanon was removed from the U.S. government's list of major drug producing countries in 1997.[11] Nowadays, the Lebanese government is setting new agricultural policies, providing help to the local production and giving several incentives in order to increase the quality and quantity of Lebanese production.
The main agriculture areas in Lebanon
Lebanon's main agriculture areas are: the Coastal Strip, Akkar plain with upper Mount Lebanon, Bekaa Valley, Mountainous region, Western slope of anti-Lebanon range, Southern Hills. Here are the following harvest type of each of these areas:[12]
- The Coastal Strip: citrus, banana & horticulture & greenhouse production
- Akkar plain with upper Mount Lebanon: cereals, potatoes, grapes & vegetables
- Bekaa valley: potatoes, grains, fruits & vegetables
- Mountainous region: orchards & vegetables
- Western slope of Anti-Lebanon range: grapes, olives & cherries
- Southern hills: olives, tobacco, almonds & grains
Major agricultural products
Lebanon produces a variety of primary products for both export and domestic consumption. Lebanese agricultural exports are mainly concentrated in the Arab League countries. In 2003, approximately 350,000 metric tons of commodities were exported to the surrounding region, primarily Saudi Arabia, with potatoes being the fastest-growing vegetable export (30% of total exports).[13] Other regions that import Lebanese agricultural products include North America (3,123 metric and 1% of total exports in 2003), primarily the United States which imports products such as almonds, apricots, beans, cucumbers and gherkins, nuts and orange juice, and members of the European Union.[14] This table includes the top ten Lebanese exported agricultural products for the year 2004:
Commodity[15] | Quantity (Mt) | Value (000 US$) | Unit Value (US$) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Maize | 290,530 | 48,538 | 167 |
2 | Tobacco leaves |
9,260 | 21,981 | 2,374 |
3 | Apples |
39,795 | 20,640 | 519 |
4 | Potatoes |
45,754 | 8,311 | 182 |
5 | Non-alcoholic |
18,650 | 7,980 | 428 |
6 | Prepared Vegetables | 6,719 | 7,341 | 1,093 |
7 | Wine | 1,433 | 7,193 | 5,020 |
8 | Prepared Nuts | 3,811 | 7,115 | 1,867 |
9 | Sugar confectionery |
2,255 | 7,075 | 3,137 |
10 | Pastry | 3,616 | 5,545 | 1,533 |
- Mt = Metric Ton
Crops
Lebanon produces crops in five major categories:
Governorate | Cereals | Fruit Trees | Olives | Industrial crops | Vegetables |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mount Lebanon | 3,140 | 97,820 | 77,678 | 1,613 | 31,100 |
North | 120,380 | 135,685 | 209,628 | 37,769 | 128,584 |
Beqaa | 297,737 | 217,570 | 31,443 | 153,232 | 259,743 |
South | 37,638 | 123,304 | 89,340 | 14,625 | 20,753 |
Nabatieh | 59,525 | 20,768 | 116,124 | 40,026 | 12,141 |
Total | 518,420 | 595,147 | 524,213 | 247,265 | 452,321 |
Livestock
Livestock production in Lebanon is an important activity[clarification needed], particularly in mountainous areas and in the Baalbek–Hermel area on the eastern mountain chain, where soil fertility is relatively low. While the number of goats have been relatively stable for more than two decades, sheep production has increased sharply. In recent years, livestock production (goats and sheep) has relied increasingly on feed blocks and feed supplements, thereby reducing dependence on wild grazing and ultimately leading to more sedentary animal production. Bovines and dairy production is becoming increasingly popular. In the past five years, several medium-to large-scale dairy farms have been established in the North and in the Beqaa. Several grant and loan agreements (proposed by organizations such as USAID) have encouraged farmers to expand dairy production.[8] The table shows the evolution of livestock production from 1980 to 1999:
Category | 1980 | 1999 | Variation (%) |
---|---|---|---|
Cows | 55,612 | 75,874 | + 36 |
Sheep | 145,068 | 378,050 | + 160 |
Goats | 444,448 | 435,965 | - 2 |
Total | 645,128 | 889,889 | + 38 |
Horticulture
Lebanon produces a variety of fruits and vegetables. The largest crops (more than 20 kilo tonnes in 2003) include potatoes, oranges, apples and grapes. Exotic crops include
Horticulture has traditionally provided the Lebanese with all their fresh fruit and vegetable needs, with a smaller export industry. However, loosened border controls and increasing imports have threatened local industries. In recent years governmental projects such as Export Plus have put into action the encouragement of local fruits and vegetables production, quality control and investment incentives for farmers in order to boost their produce and raise the level of the Lebanese horticulture industry. The tables below show the exported quantities of major crops (Metric tons) which include potatoes, apples and grapes, from 2002 to 2005:
Year | Potato | Apple | Grape |
---|---|---|---|
2002 | 130,570 | 18,805 | 17,321 |
2003 | 108,527 | 27,883 | 32,387 |
2004 | 144,702 | 55,337 | 28,904 |
2005 | 106,012 | 50,357 | 9,120 |
Viticulture
Viticulture in Lebanon, which is considered a thriving industry nowadays, is mainly concentrated in the Beqaa Valley with wineries producing an annual amount of approximately 600,000 cases of wine. Wineries like
Dairy
In recent statistics from the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture, there were 80,000 cattle, including 65,000 dairy cows, 350,000 sheep, including 315,000 milk sheep, and 450,000 goats, including 400,000 dairy goats. Of the dairy cows, 40% are of the local breed, 26% are purebred
Product Group | Value (000 US$) 2001 | Value (000 US$) 2002 | Value (000 US$) 2003 | Value (000 US$) 2004 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Milk & cream and milk products other than butter or cheese | 1,189 | 538 | 746 | 594 |
Butter and other fats and oils derived from milk | 473 | 852 | 89 | 76 |
Cheese and Curd | 443 | 702 | 1,800 | 2,049 |
Fishing
In a 1999 report done by the "Regional Socio-Economic Development Program for South Lebanon" indications reveal that Lebanon has 3,000 to 4,000 fishermen. Annual fish production in 1996 doubled in average over a phase of ten years, with production amounting to 4,485 tonnes (4,110 tonnes of sea fish and 375 tonnes of freshwater fish, mostly in fish farms). Fishing in rivers has relatively small importance in Lebanon, with productions significantly taking place in the
While sea fish production in Lebanon is compared to that of neighboring countries on a km of coastline basis, freshwater fish production continues to lag behind. Absence of sea fish breeding along the coast due to strong coastal currents have been substituted by offshore fishing of
Drugs
The Beqaa Valley, situated near the Syrian border, serves as a focal point for Lebanon's drug industry, characterized by the cultivation, production, and trade of various narcotics within the region. Studies indicate a significant involvement of various factions and militias, including Hezbollah, in Lebanon's drug economy, with Western intelligence estimating the annual production of over 4 million pounds (1,800 tonnes) of hashish and 20,000 pounds (9,100 kg) of heroin, generating profits exceeding $4 billion. Despite some of the harvest being retained for local use, a significant amount is smuggled worldwide. Despite ongoing efforts, the government's inability to control the drug-producing Beqaa Valley and address illicit Captagon factories allows for the persistent occurrence of drug trades, impacting Lebanon's economy and regional stability.[20][21][22]
Governance
Agriculture is a state responsibility in Lebanon, where the ministry of agriculture is involved in setting agricultural policies and regulations. In the 1990s, the Lebanese government has awarded 89 contracts in the agricultural sector worth a total of US$13.6 million and an additional 46 projects in the irrigation sector, worth US$51.8 million. Contracts include consultancy and design, as well as works and equipment supply. Capital investment in the agricultural sector includes the rehabilitation of the Ministry of Agriculture, land reclamation projects, as well as the rehabilitation of agricultural schools and research stations. The agricultural sector is struggling to survive in a competitive regional market. Through loans and grant agreements, the government has implemented large-scale irrigation projects and has taken steps to ban a long list of hazardous pesticides. However, there are many problems facing the agricultural development with effective extension programs, use of water-conserving irrigation techniques, and rational use of agrochemicals still scant or localized.[8]
Key Policies and Actions
- Banning dangerous pesticides, the ministry of agriculture banned 110 pesticides in 1998, including aldrin, dieldrin, endrin and DDT.
- Safe handling of obsolete pesticides, FAOsupported a project in 1998 (US$101,000) to assist the Lebanese government in eliminating a stock of 8.5 tonnes of pesticides and train the staff of the Agricultural Research Institute to manage and handle the pesticides stock.
- Phasing out methyl bromide, the ministry of economy initiated the Methyl Bromide Alternatives Project in May 1999. The project has shown the efficiency of all available alternatives to methyl bromide over four consecutive growing seasons in 19 sites around the country, totaling 52 greenhousescovering a total area of 20.5 km2.
- Land reclamation projects:
- Provided assistance, either financial or technical, to 1407 farmers.
- Reclaimed 756 hectaresof abandoned lands.
- Supported the construction of several earth-lined hill lakes (total capacity of 5,300,000 m3) and cement reservoirs (total capacity 500,000 m3).
- Terraced approximately 16,000 hectares. This is equivalent to 6.3% of the total surface area currently under cultivation.
- Improving water management, Canal 800 (a series of surface water distribution networks) and the IRMP will convert/add 32,255 hectares to irrigated agriculture. These irrigation schemes are designed to tap surface water resources and may therefore alleviate current demand pressure on groundwater.
- Promoting organic farming, the introduction and improvement of certified and labeled organic produce to local and foreign markets.[8]
In September 1995, Lebanon through the Ministry of Agriculture signed the
- Promotion of Innovative Trade Initiatives Promoted to Increase Market Opportunities for Dryland Products
- Sub-national and Local Level NAP Priority Projects Implemented
- Developing a National Resource Mobilization Strategy for UNCCD/NAP Implementation
- Flood Risk Management and Water Harvesting for Livelihood Recovery in Baalback-Hermel
Current challenges
The country's focus on the banking sector, real estate market and a fixed Lebanese pound as a post war reconstruction strategy, led the government to not invest in the sector and its development. The state has favored the services sector over the productive sector, resulting in some major challenges in local agriculture: heavy use of traditional techniques for agriculture by farmers, high dependence on imports from seeds to pesticides and fertilizers, most inputs are imported. A major dependence of Lebanese landowners on foreign labor, namely
The informality of the sector constitutes an impediment in the development of the Lebanese agriculture. Lebanese and as well as Syrian farmers in the sector work informally, the agriculture work is unregulated, therefore there is so legal definition for farmer as a form of business. This absence of legal definition, implies the lack of social security such as pensions or healthcare. The inequitable system which thus is established as a result, favors exploitation of agriculture workers and clientelist relationships dominated by a few influential people who control access to opportunities, lands and resources. Government statistics does not include informal workers, male or female.
Farmers do not have a financial institution to provide them with credit. Suppliers, filled this gap for farmers and became their first and main source of credit, by supplying them with the inputs they need to harvest. These suppliers have created an unsustainable and excess use of inputs resulting in a huge dependency of farmers to the imported goods suppliers provide them with. The Lebanese pound being volatile, and with its devaluation in comparison with the dollars, makes it difficult for farmers currently to be able to access these credits. They are unable to generate an income in dollars to buy the input, which are imported, thus priced in dollars. Farmers now, buy less inputs, which result in poor harvest quality, less harvest output and a poor profit for farmers in the Lebanese pounds.[23]
Selling to markets through middlemen is the standard way for farmers to sell their output. This form of business puts the farmer in an imbalanced power relationship with the middleman. Middlemen buy farmers' output much less than it is worth and sell it for more than it is worth. Even if farmers lose in this relationship, they are dependent on the wholesale market dominated by the middlemen.
See also
- Geography of Lebanon
- Mediterranean climate
- Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests
References
- ^ "World Bank Open Data". World Bank Open Data. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
- ^ "Lebanon at a glance | FAO in Lebanon | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
- ^ a b Turkmani, Nour; Hamade, Kanj (January 2020). "DYNAMICS OF SYRIAN REFUGEES IN LEBANON'S AGRICULTURE SECTOR" (PDF). AUB. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-07-15. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
- ^ Nour Turkmani, Kanj Hamade (January 2020). "DYNAMICS OF SYRIAN REFUGEES IN LEBANON'S AGRICULTURE SECTOR" (PDF). AUB. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-07-15.
- ^ http://www.fita.org/countries/lebanon.html Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, Lebanon, Main branches of industry, January 2008. Retrieved on 2008-06-22.
- ^ a b http://countrystudies.us/lebanon/71.htm, Crop Production. Retrieved on 2008-06-25.
- ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Lebanon State of the Environment Report" (PDF). Ministry of Environment/LEDO. Archived from the original (.pdf) on October 5, 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
- ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
- ^ http://www.lebwine.com/, Wine of Lebanon. Retrieved on 2008-06-25.
- ^ "A Comeback for Lebanon's Hashish", Nicholas Blanford. Retrieved on 2008-06-25.
- ^ Byiringiro, Fidèle (1 October 2013). "The Agricultural Sector of Lebanon" (PDF). Data Bank. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-10-13. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Export Plus Report, January 2004" (PDF). Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL). Archived from the original (.pdf) on 2007-08-13. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
- ^ http://www.nationmaster.com/country/le-lebanon/agr-agriculture, LEBANESE AGRICULTURE STATS. Retrieved on 2008-06-22.
- ^ http://www.fao.org/es/ess/toptrade/trade.asp?lang=EN&dir=exp&country=121, Exports: Commodities by country, Lebanon, 2004. Retrieved on 2008-06-22.
- ^ "WINE & SPECIALTY FOODS" (.pdf). Emerging Lebanon 2005 Industry and Retail. Retrieved 2008-06-23.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Lebanon - France Trade Statistics 2000-2005" (PDF). Trade Statistics. Archived from the original (.pdf) on November 15, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
- ^ http://www.ilri.org/infoserv/webpub/fulldocs/wana/Lebanon.htm Archived 2008-06-14 at the Wayback Machine, Lebanon country paper, C. Hilan. Retrieved on 2008-06-23.
- ^ http://www.intracen.org/tradstat/sitc3-3d/er422.htm, International Trade Center, Exports 2001–2005 Reporter: Lebanon. Retrieved on 2008-06-23.
- ^ "Lebanon's drug trade booms with help from Hezbollah's Captagon connection". Arab News. 2021-07-05. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
- ^ "The Gulf, Lebanon and The War on Drugs". egic. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
- ^ Cwerman, Ralph. "Lebanon's Valley of Drugs". Washington Post.
- ^ Hamadé, Kanj (13 November 2020). "Lebanon's Food Insecurity and the Path Toward Agricultural Reform". Carnegie Middle East Center. Archived from the original on 2020-11-13. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
- ^ الزارعة في لبنان. "الزارعة في لبنان". Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-10-01.