Hilly Areas Sustainable Agriculture Development Project

• raising productivity, improving quality of produce and lowering production costs for existing farming systems, which are based mostly on fruits and vegetables;
• adding value through post-harvest support services to increase farm profitability and income; and
• enhancing processing and marketing services with local enterprises and generating employment to assist those without sufficient land resources.

The project tackles the major constraint on development of the Lebanese agriculture sector: lack of water. The overall goal of the project is to reduce rural poverty by substantially increasing the agricultural productivity and income of the targeted households in the project area through:

• improvements in soil and water management and development of small and medium-sized water harvesting and soil-and-water conservation measures;
• increased agricultural productivity and better market linkages for small farmers through the provision of technical support services; and
• strengthened capacity of project implementing agencies and farmers′ organizations.

The project will directly benefit poor, small-farm households that were directly or indirectly affected by the war. It will focus on the following zones: Akkar-Danniyeh, North Baalbeck and Hermel, South/Lower Litani, Mount Lebanon and other areas inhabited by the target population. Project beneficiaries will be selected from the estimated 24,000 poor and very poor households in these areas.

Source: IFAD