Please refer to the attached file.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Belgium support conflict‑affected farming communities in southern and eastern Lebanon to restore agricultural production, protect livelihoods and improve food security
The renewed escalation of hostilities has placed Lebanon’s agrifood system under severe pressure, reversing fragile recovery gains and further deepening already high levels of acute food insecurity. Between April and August 2026, an estimated 1.24 million people – nearly one in four – are projected to face acute food insecurity (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification [IPC] Phase 3 or above).1
In this context, the agriculture sector, already weakened by years of overlapping crises, is facing major disruption to production cycles, access to land and market functionality. Recent assessments confirm the scale and severity of the crisis. FAO’s Data in Emergencies survey (December 2025) identified growing humanitarian and agricultural needs among farming households, while the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture’s Rapid Needs Assessment (April 2026) reported extensive damage to farmland, widespread displacement of farmers, and major disruptions to agricultural activity in key producing areas, particularly in Baalbek-Hermel, Bekaa, Nabatiyeh and South Lebanon.
Despite these shocks, many rural households continue to rely on agriculture as a primary source of food and income. However, disrupted planting and harvest cycles, damaged productive assets, loss of trees and crops, labour shortages, and rising input and transport costs are rapidly undermining their productive capacity and ability to sustain their livelihoods. Without urgent support, these constraints risk translating into longer-term declines in yields, income and food availability.
In response, the Government of Belgium has contributed USD 800 000 to FAO, through SFERA, to provide direct assistance to 1 890 conflict-affected and internally displaced smallholder farming households, of whom at least 30 percent female-headed.