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Supporting Women’s Agrifood Cooperatives and Associations in Lebanon - GCP/LEB/030/CAN

Year of publication 2024

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 2

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Project

Synopsis (short abstract) Agricultural associations and cooperatives are critical for income generation, employment creation and food security in Lebanon, where the population has increased by one-third since March 2011, when the country began to see an influx of refugees from the Syrian Arab Republic. The role of women in these associations and cooperatives has historically been limited owing to traditional beliefs surrounding the family, despite strong evidence that when women have control over resources and income, family food consumption and welfare increase, and child malnutrition decreases. This project therefore aimed to bolster both the number and capacity of women’s cooperatives and associations in rural areas of Lebanon to enhance food security and reduce poverty. A few years into implementation, multiple crises hit Lebanon, including the impacts of the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic, the financial downturn in October 2019, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the explosion of the Port of Beirut in August 2020, and the conflict in southern Lebanon, which began in October 2023. The country’s currency lost 90 percent of its value and experienced a 36.5 percent decline in gross domestic product per capita, resulting in a reclassification from upper-middle-income country to lower-middle-income country by the World Bank in 2022. Despite these grave challenges, the project adapted to the context, ensuring delivery and achieving its main goals.

Language English

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