Livelihood Support for War-Affected Rural Families in Lebanon

The border village Al-Wazani, an underprivileged agricultural village in Southern Lebanon located directly on the Lebanese-Israeli border, was heavily affected by the July-August 2006 war between Lebanon and Israel. In addition to the total destruction of infrastructure, the loss of lives and an economy suffering badly from the recession that followed the war, livestock losses during the war are estimated at 1 600 high-yielding milking cows and more than 20 000 goats. The families that already lived in fragile conditions before the conflict, found themselves facing a very difficult situation with the loss of the much needed income; most of them having no savings to make new investments.

HCI project is helping hardest-hit farming families to recover their livestock losses and resume their production activities which include milk production and processing into local yogurt and cheese. This involves the distribution of milking cows to those families and providing them with technical and veterinarian assistance. The project involved the development of a revolving livestock scheme, but requiring the first newborn cows to be given to other families in need. The project also involved conducting a comprehensive survey in Al-Wazani area by profiling hardest-hit farming families and conducting a needs assessment for shortlisted families.

As a result, farmers are regaining access to food and sources of income. Among the most affected households who are benefiting from the project are families headed by widows, the wounded or the handicapped.

"As the number of livestock to be distributed remains low in relation to the magnitude of the losses, a substantial extension of the rehabilitation plan would be required to bring livestock keeping in Southern Lebanon to pre-war levels," Mr Rabih Yazbeck, HCI Middle East Regional Director, commented.

In addition to the livestock recovery project, HCI is assisting hardest-hit horticulture farmers through the distribution of high quality fertilizer and pesticides to ensure increased crop production.