Lebanon and Jordan | Enhancing resilient livelihoods and food security of local communities and refugees

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture in Lebanon and the Ministry of Agriculture in Jordan, and in partnership with IFAD and WFP, launched the project entitled “Enhancing resilient livelihoods and food security of host communities and Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon through the promotion of sustainable agricultural development”. This project is funded by the European Union, through the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian crisis, the EU Madad Fund.

The project addresses the reduced livelihood and food security levels in Jordan and Lebanon resulting from the crisis in Syria. It offers to tackle its negative impact on both refugees from Syria and host communities through support to the agriculture sector. This will be done by improving the agricultural productivity and farmers’ incomes, in addition to creating job opportunities for both host communities and displaced Syrians. The project will also promote social protection mechanisms for the benefit of the host farming community.

With an adapted approach in Jordan and Lebanon, the project will aim at creating adequate agriculture production support systems for vulnerable smallholders that support good agriculture practices and timely response to shocks. It will also rehabilitate the capacity of the agriculture extension systems to be able to respond to the increasing demand for support due to the impact of the Syrian crisis. In addition, the project will support vulnerable smallholders and small family-based agri-food enterprises to increase the productivity and financial feasibility of their activities.  Additional support will be provided to communal assets and management of natural resources with employment and training opportunities created for the most affected host communities and refugees.