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Economic & Sector Work :: Other Agricultural Study

Lebanon Agriculture Sector Note : Aligning Public Expenditures with Comparative Advantage

ADVERTISING AGRIBUSINESS AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT AGRICULTURAL INPUTS AGRICULTURAL KNOWLEDGE AGRICULTURAL LAND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS AGRICULTURAL R&D AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE AGRICULTURAL ZONES AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION AGRICULTURE PROGRAM AGRICULTURE PROGRAMS AGRICULTURE PROJECTS AGRICULTURE RESEARCH AGRONOMIST ALTERNATIVE CROPS APPLES ARABLE LAND BARRIERS TO ENTRY BEEF BRAND BRAND NAME BRANDS BREAD CANNING CANNING INDUSTRY CAPITAL EXPENDITURES CATTLE CENTRAL BANK CEREAL IMPORTS CEREAL STOCKS CEREALS CLIMATE CHANGE COMMERCE COMMODITIES COMMODITY PRICES COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES COMPETITIVENESS CONSOLIDATION CONSUMER PROTECTION CONSUMERS CROP CROP DIVERSITY DATES DEBT DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH DOMESTIC MARKET DOMESTIC MARKETS ECONOMIC SECTORS ECONOMIES OF SCALE EXPENDITURE EXPENDITURES EXPORT MARKETS FAO FARMERS FARMING FARMS FERTILIZERS FLOUR FOOD EXPORTS FOOD POLICY FOOD POLICY RESEARCH FOOD QUALITY FOOD SAFETY FOOD SECURITY FOOD SUBSIDIES FOODS FORESTRY FRESH FRUIT FRUIT JUICES FRUITS FURROW IRRIGATION GDP GLOBAL WARMING GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY GRAIN GRAINS GRANT PROGRAMS GROWTH POTENTIAL HIGH YIELDS HORTICULTURAL CROPS ICARDA IDRC IFAD IFPRI INCOME INCOME DISTRIBUTION INPUT PRICES INTEREST RATE INTEREST RATES INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN THE DRY AREAS INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH CENTER INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL MARKET INVESTMENT IN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IRRIGATION JUICES LANDS LAWS LIVESTOCK LOCAL GOVERNMENT LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
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Washington, DC
Middle East and North Africa | Lebanon
2013-02-28T20:29:04Z | 2013-02-28T20:29:04Z | 2010-01

Agriculture is a small but stable part of the Lebanese economy. Approximately 20 to 25 percent of Lebanon's active population is involved in the sector in one way or another. This note is a synthesis of previous work written on agriculture development in Lebanon and related public expenditures in the sector. It starts with an overview of the agriculture sector in Lebanon and its role and contribution to the economy. Approximately eight percent of Lebanese households live below the poverty line. Among major economic sectors, agriculture has the highest rate of poverty. Over 20 percent of heads of households engaged in this sector are very poor. The North governorate is among the hardest hit areas with one in four agriculture workers likely to be poor. Agriculture sector development could play an important role in pro-poor growth. This note aims to focus on an agriculture sub-sector with significant growth potential. The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis explains that Lebanon is relatively more competitive in fruits and vegetables than in cereals and livestock. First, Lebanon is a relatively water scarce country and livestock put a greater strain on water resources than fruits and vegetables. Second, cereals are a lower-value crop than fruits and vegetables, and have more volatile returns. Third, competitiveness in cereal markets requires producing in high volume. Lebanon is a small country that is very dependent on cereal imports, comprising roughly 83 percent of consumption. Thus, profitability is limited by a constraint on economies of scale. Moreover, making significant investments to reduce cereal import dependency may actually reduce food security by putting further strain on Government of Lebanon's (GoL's) fiscal balance, thereby limiting its ability to respond to food-price shocks. Livestock growth is also unattractive from a food security perspective because it would significantly increase domestic demand for cereals, increasing the country's exposure to market volatility.

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