FOOD SECURITY SNAPSHOT
Favourable weather conditions for 2019 winter grains
Slightly below-average cereal harvest gathered in 2018
Cereal import requirements in 2018/19 expected to remain above average
Number of registered Syrian refugees in country stabilized
Weather conditions favourable for 2019 winter grains development
Planting of the 2019 winter barley and wheat crops, which started in mid-October 2018, is about to be completed. Remote sensing earth observation information suggests the above average precipitation and weather conditions have been favourable for crop establishment and development.
In 2018, total cereal production was estimated at about 164 000 tonnes, similar to 2017 but about 7 percent below the five-year average. While domestic cereal production is limited by landscape, production of fruits and vegetables is important in terms of GDP contribution and employment. Out of a total agricultural area of 332 000 hectares, 230 000 hectares are cultivated and about half of this area is irrigated. The agricultural sector employs only 8 percent of the total labour force, but it is a primary source of income and employment in rural areas where it reaches up to 25 percent of the labour force and 80 percent of the local GDP.
Above-average cereal import requirements in 2018/19
Domestic cereal production covers, on average, about 17 percent of the consumption needs and the country depends heavily on imports. In the 2018/19 marketing year (July/June), the cereal import requirements, mainly wheat for human consumption and maize to feed livestock and poultry, are forecast at 2 million tonnes, about 200 000 tonnes below the previous year, but 15 percent above the average of the last five years. Above average import requirements are in part supported by higher food consumption, particularly of wheat, due to population growth.
In November 2018, the yearly general inflation was 5.8 percent, while the food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation was 6.7 percent, up from over 4 percent in spring 2018 supported by higher commodity prices. The Consumer Protection Department at the Ministry of Economy and Trade sets the price of local Lebanese flat bread, while other bakery products (baguettes, sandwich bread, etc.) are not subsidized.
Lebanese response plan to Syrian refugee crisis
As of December 2018, almost 1 million Syrian refugees were registered with UNHCR in the country, the same figure as in January 2016. Since the beginning of the civil unrest in the Syrian Arab Republic in March 2011, the influx of refugees into the country steadily increased until January 2015 when the Government revised the entry and residency rules for Syrian nationals.
The Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP) 2017-2020 estimated that there are about 3.3 million people in need of assistance in the country, including 1.5 million vulnerable Lebanese, 1.5 million displaced Syrians (many not registered) and 300 000 Palestinian refugees.