Agriculture in Lebanon is the third most productive sector in the country after the tertiary and industrial sectors. It contributes 3.1% of GDP and 8 percent of the effective labor force. The sector includes an informal Syrian labor and is dependent on foreign labor for its productivity. Main crops include cereals (mainly wheat and barley), fruits and vegetables, olives, grapes, and tobacco, along with sheep and goat herding. Mineral resources are limited and are only exploited for domestic consumption.http://www.fita.org/countries/lebanon.html , Lebanon, Main branches of industry, January 2008. Retrieved on 2008-06-22. Lebanon, which has a variety of agricultural lands, from the interior plateau of the Beqaa Valley to the narrow valleys leading downward to the sea, enables farmers to grow both European and tropical crops. Tobacco and figs are grown in the south, citrus fruits and bananas along the coast, olives in the north and around the Shouf Mountains, and fruits and vegetables in the Beqaa Valley. More exotic crops include avocados, grown near Byblos, and hashish (a major crop in the Beqaa Valley). Although the country benefits from favorable farming conditions and diverse microclimates, it relies on food imports, which make up 80% of its consumption.
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 soil erosion and impoverishment, depletion of underground water resources, water pollution and health impacts from inappropriate use of pesticides and fertilizers, and environmental pollution from haphazard dumping of slaughter waste and animal farms are from the main problems of this sector. Agriculture is also diminishing to rampant urbanization, such as in the coastal plains and in parts of the Beqaa Valley. The government's policies appear to be targeting the increase in the availability of water irrigation (especially in the South) and controlling the use of pesticides, with no or little investment or incentives for water- and soil-conserving irrigation techniques. The private sector is gradually taking advantage of new but small scale opportunities offered by organic farming and high-value agricultural produce.
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.
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.http://www.lebwine.com/, Wine of Lebanon. Retrieved on 2008-06-25. 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 Arab rule in the Middle Ages, the country enjoyed an economic boom, in which the Lebanese harbors of Tyre and Tripoli were busy with shipping of industrial and agricultural products. Lebanese products were sought after not only in Arab countries, but also throughout the Mediterranean Basin. This period of economic growth was later oppressed with the beginning of the Ottoman rule and the high taxes imposed on the Lebanese production.
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 Lebanese Civil War and after the Israeli invasion in the early 1980s. In the latter period, the government prepared plans to irrigate an additional 60,000 hectares, and by 1984 studies were under way on six major irrigation projects, all designed to be carried out as part of the 1982–1991 reconstruction plan. However, with the Israeli invasion came a diversion of water from rivers mainly located in the south. Even in the relative calm between 1978 and 1981, about 1,100 hectares of tobacco were destroyed, 300 hectares of agricultural land were abandoned because of land mines, and 51,000 olive trees and 70,000 fruit trees were destroyed, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
By the mid-1980s, Lebanon had become one of the world's most prominent narcotics trafficking centers, with the prosperous phase that it witnessed (especially in the Beqaa valley). Before 1975, much of this trade was exported by air from small airstrips in the Beqaa Valley. After the valley came under Syrian control, the drug crop left the country by sea through Christian-controlled ports to Cyprus, overland to Syria or sometimes through Israel to Egypt.http://countrystudies.us/lebanon/71.htm, Crop Production. Retrieved on 2008-06-25.
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 $300 million was required for rural development of the Beqaa. Lebanon was removed from the U.S. government's list of major drug producing countries in 1997."A Comeback for Lebanon's Hashish", Nicholas Blanford. Retrieved on 2008-06-25.
The main agriculture areas in Lebanon Lebanon's main agriculture areas are: the Coastal Strip, Akkar plain with upper Mount Lebanon, Bekaa Valley, Mountainous region, Western slope of anti-Lebanon range, Southern Hills. Here are the following harvest type of each of these areas:
The Coastal Strip: citrus, banana & horticulture & greenhouse production Akkar plain with upper Mount Lebanon: cereals, potatoes, grapes & vegetables Bekaa valley: potatoes, grains, fruits & vegetables Mountainous region: orchards & vegetables Western slope of Anti-Lebanon range: grapes, olives & cherries Southern hills: olives, tobacco, almonds & grains
Major agricultural products Lebanon produces a variety of primary products for both export and domestic consumption. Lebanese agricultural exports are mainly concentrated in the Arab League countries. In 2003, approximately 350,000 metric tons of commodities were exported to the surrounding region, primarily Saudi Arabia, with potatoes being the fastest-growing vegetable export (30% of total exports). Other regions that import Lebanese agricultural products include North America (3,123 metric and 1% of total exports in 2003), primarily the United States which imports products such as almonds, apricots, beans, cucumbers and gherkins, nuts and orange juice, and members of the European Union.http://www.nationmaster.com/country/le-lebanon/agr-agriculture, LEBANESE AGRICULTURE STATS. Retrieved on 2008-06-22. This table includes the top ten Lebanese exported agricultural products for the year 2004:
Commodityhttp://www.fao.org/es/ess/toptrade/trade.asp?lang=EN&dir=exp&country=121, Exports: Commodities by country, Lebanon, 2004. Retrieved on 2008-06-22.Quantity (Mt)Value (000 US$)Unit Value (US$)1Maize290,53048,5381672Tobacco leaves9,26021,9812,3743Apples39,79520,6405194Potatoes45,7548,3111825Beverages Non-alcoholic18,6507,9804286Prepared Vegetables6,7197,3411,0937Wine1,4337,1935,0208Prepared Nuts3,8117,1151,8679Sugar confectionery2,2557,0753,13710Pastry3,6165,5451,533
Mt = Metric Ton
Crops
Lebanon produces crops in five major categories: cereals, fruits (not including olives), olives, industrial crops (such as sugar beet and tobacco), and vegetables. Fruit and olive trees occupy 45% of the total cultivated area, and have increased by about 230,000 m2 in the past 10 years. The area covered by greenhouse production has also significantly increased over the past years, from 6,700 m2 in the late 1980s to almost 50,000 m2 in 1999. Agricultural production in greenhouses is more intensive than in open fields and requires more agrochemicals (pesticides and fertilizers). Agricultural production is concentrated in the Beqaa, which accounts for 42% of total cultivated land. The Beqaa hosts 62% of the total area used for industrial crops (including sugar beet, tobacco, and vineyards) and 57% of the total area used for cereal production. The North (Akkar and Koura regions) hosts 40% of the area used for olive production in the country. Fruit trees cover 24% of the total cultivated area.
In the village on the southern border of Lebanon, there exists a monoculture on tobacco. The main reason for this is that tobacco is a hardy crop that is uniquely adapted to the region's dry and hilly topography, as it survives on morning dew. Therefore, it needs no expensive irrigation systems, which is ideal in a region that is regularly affected by war between Israel and Hezbollah. Since 1993 the Lebanese state-owned tobacco monopoly, the Régie Libanaise des Tabac et Tombacs, has guaranteed the purchase of tobacco at subsidized prices to ensure that citizens would stay on their land during the Israeli occupation. This presents the people living at the southern border of Lebanon an existential economic lifeline in times of war.
The table below lists the land used for major types of crops by Governorates (in m2) for year 1999: Lebanon also produces cannabis for medical use.
GovernorateCerealsFruit TreesOlivesIndustrial cropsVegetablesMount Lebanon3,14097,82077,6781,61331,100North120,380135,685209,62837,769128,584Beqaa297,737217,57031,443153,232259,743South37,638123,30489,34014,62520,753Nabatieh59,52520,768116,12440,02612,141Total518,420595,147524,213247,265452,321
Livestock Livestock production in Lebanon is an important activity, 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. The table shows the evolution of livestock production from 1980 to 1999:
Category19801999Variation (%)Cows55,61275,874+ 36Sheep145,068378,050+ 160Goats444,448435,965- 2Total645,128889,889+ 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 avocados mainly in north Mount Lebanon and hashish in the Beqaa valley.