PSD Lebanon in the Akkar region: Promising results
In the Akkar region, which is traditionally known as an agricultural area with greenhouses on the plains and open-field mountain crops, Expertise France initially conducted a diagnostic of the value chains, identifying the specific needs for crops and the type of research sought. Following this pre-identification of the sectors to support, three implementation partners were selected via a call for proposals: Fair Trade Lebanon (FTL), Mada Association and the René Moawad Foundation (RMF).
Since the start of the projects in February 2018, the activities implemented have shown significant results for the beneficiaries, i.e. stakeholders in the sector as a whole and mainly agricultural producers:
• For example, the local market organisation (FTL) has made it possible to launch a dynamic of short circuits and bring consumers closer to producers in Northern Lebanon.
• The installation, monitoring and promotion of demonstration plots for farming without soil (Mada) have proved the effectiveness of this specific means of production of intensive farming to farmers in the region.
• In terms of cooperation between the experts who have sustainably structured the avocado sector in Southern Lebanon and the stakeholders in this sector, which were still developing in 2018 in Akkar, the initial results are promising and the project is making a marked improvement to the quality and quantity of avocados in the orchards of the farmers who have benefited from support.
Throughout the PSD programme, Expertise France has ensured that the 3 projects developed in the Akkar region by FTL, Mada and RMF work in synergy and cooperate during certain joint events, but also structurally in terms of exchanging information and good practices in order to contribute to supporting the agricultural sector in a region that benefits from significant assets in this field.
Fair Trade Lebanon: Fair trade helping reposition producers at the centre of the market gardening sector
Fair Trade Lebanon works on the market gardening sector. The project’s objective is to support agricultural and processing cooperatives in order to improve their access to high-quality seeds, direct their production towards certification – a guarantee of quality – and promote access to markets by allowing producers to participate in local events and markets.
To achieve this, their action covers a wide range of awareness-raising and training activities with stakeholders upstream in the sector. For the marketing aspect, FTL supports producers in order to promote their integration into local distribution and sales channels for their products.
Mada: Innovation in farming techniques and practices in order to promote sustainable agriculture for Lebanese farmers and consumers
Mada, like FTL, works on the market gardening sector. The association has been offering farmers from the plain and mountains of Akkar a series of practical and theoretical training courses since 2018. The aim is to support the change in farming practices in terms of natural resources management, irrigation, fertilisation and crop monitoring.
In addition, the NGO has promoted an alternative farming method to conventional agriculture, which is widespread in Lebanon, by identifying farmers interested in installing and planting products (tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and cucumbers) using the soil-less growing technique. The results are conclusive, as this production method is more effective than conventional methods that use a lot of chemical inputs.
René Moawad Foundation: Lebanese North-South cooperation to structure the avocado sector at the local and national levels
With this project, the René Moawad Foundation aims to support several structural stakeholders for the sector in Northern Lebanon (nurseries, agronomists, input suppliers and producers) in order to assist with their professionalisation and specialisation in the avocado value chain. Group training courses and an individual technical follow-up for farmers targeted by the NGO have been organised to build their technical skills (organisation of orchards, grafting, fertilisation, irrigation, frost protection, etc.) and ensure both the yields and the quality of the avocados produced.
Downstream in the sector, the project supports members of women’s cooperatives so that they acquire skills to produce avocado soap and to allow them to sell these products on local markets and at local events in the region.
Consult the PSD-P project sheet
Find out more about the activities in Akkar: www.psdplebanon.com
