Home Economics & PolicyAnalysis Lebanon’s food security in crisis-mode


Lebanon’s food security in crisis-mode

From mismanagement to education and inflation, years of insufficiency has left the sector in a pitiful state

by Rouba Bou Khzam

The latest chapter of Lebanon’s compounded and overlapping disasters has emerged in the shape of a bleak and multifaceted food crisis. As if a hard-hitting dose of COVID-19, the Beirut port explosion of 2020, and a crashing economy was not enough, this year, world-wide economies were shaken by Russia’s war in Ukraine which triggered unprecedented global food security fears. 

For Lebanon, the crisis has exacerbated social hardships among an increasingly poor nation, which has disproportionately impacted poor and vulnerable households, and reinforced inequality. Every week, more and more families are resorting to cut staple items from their shopping lists as food inflation rates rise uncontrollably, while politicians idly stand by. Lebanon’s food sector, insecure prior to the economic crisis, now has all its weaknesses exposed. 

 Yet the war in Ukraine and its global ramifications are not only to blame. There are multiple factors which contribute to food insecurity in Lebanon; some have been born out of the crisis, while others have plagued the sector for years, like neglect of agricultural investment, local and regional political instability, and financial mismanagement. 

 Food Availability 

 Lebanon’s position as a net importer of food has been uncovered as a major vulnerability in light of the global disrupted grain supply chain, which is  aggravating existing difficulties in maintaining adequate stocks. In addition, as the Lebanese pound has collapsed, the Central Bank’s foreign exchange reserves are dwindling, and consequently its ability to subsidize essential foodstuffs. 

 The Ukraine-Russia conflict continues to exert pressure on international wheat prices and threaten future harvests for the two fighting countries, both renowned for their grain output. This is particularly concerning for the Middle East, where many countries rely on Ukrainian and Russian wheat to feed societies reliant on bread as a daily food. In Lebanon, around 78 percent of imported wheat comes from the two countries. 

 Prior to this year’s global wheat disruption, Lebanon’s food accessibility had already dealt a major blow in 2020, when the country’s main grain silos were blown apart in the huge port blast in Beirut. With a capacity to store 120,000 tons of grain to meet a consumption rate of 50,000 tons a month, the disaster was a major hit to the core of the country’s food security. 

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s oligopolistic food importers, who hold control over prices and stocks, have worked to the detriment of supplies. Supermarket shelves filled with an array of American and European brands have been emptied and instead stocked with Turkish and Syrian products, as suppliers struggle to access US dollars.  

 Despite rich soil and an apt Mediterranean climate, decades of poorly managed economic affairs led to inefficient use of arable lands. Cultivated land represents less than 25 percent of the country’s total landmass, according to a country profile report on Lebanon from United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization. Land ownership is also highly unequal and fragmented. The agricultural sector itself is dogged by poor financial access, partly from the financial crisis and also from unsophisticated production processes. In addition to the high cost of production, it leads to a weaker competitiveness for Lebanese products.  

 

Food Access 

 Several international reports have proven the impact of the economic crisis on food security in Lebanon. Recently, the World Bank published findings showcasing Lebanon’s food inflation rate: the second highest nominal inflation rate in food prices globally during the first eight months of 2022. This was also matched by a report from International Information, a Beirut-based research and consultancy firm, which detailed a 500 percent rise in the cost of living from the beginning of 2020 until the end of August 2022, as the prices of imported goods increased by more than the rise in the exchange rate of the lira to the dollar, as well as the price of locally produced goods.  

 On a day-to-day level, the deterioration of food security has forced a change in local eating habits and citizen’s health. Speaking to Executive, Maha Hoteit, member of the National Scientific Committee for Food Safety of the Ministry of Public Health and professor at the Lebanese University, explains that over half the Lebanese population suffer from poor dietary diversity and are eating less than two meals a day. 

 Food security requires “food availability, food access, proper food utilization, and stability or consistency in these components,” she says. “The biggest challenge today is not in securing food commodities, but in the ability of citizens to pay for them, especially after the dollar exchange rate approached LL40,000 and the purchasing power of citizens decreased further.” She also mentioned that people have been forced to abandon meat and dairy foods since prices jumped, creating potential health vulnerabilities and deficiencies in essential nutrients.  

 “Oftentimes, people are quitting breakfast to eat mankousheh or a falafel sandwich for lunch, and in the evening, they eat sweets to withstand hunger to the next day,” Hoteit says, before adding that such a diet can harm a child’s mental and physical development. Hoteit says the quality of food has been negatively affected by the country’s economic collapse, while underlying poor standards have exacerbated it: “Poor packaging and preservation of foods, especially proper cooling, has caused problems in the digestive system of some, in addition to an increase in poisoning rates, and its symptoms including vomiting, [and] diarrhoea.” 

 Over the past twelve months, a surge in the number of food poisoning cases was reported widely in local media, as the hot temperatures of the summer combined with power outages have impacted refrigeration and food hygiene. 

As for whether the focus on grains is sufficient as a substitute for other items in the diet, Hoteit answers: “Sufficient amounts of proteins that are usually consumed from fish, white and red meat can be obtained if the majority of dishes are from Lebanese cooking characterized by a mixture of ingredients, especially grains and vegetables. As for vitamins, minerals and fiber, they are all available in Lebanese dishes and cereals, thus focusing on them in the diet is more beneficial for human health without meaning that we should completely abandon meat, chicken and fish in our diet.”  

A recent study by the American University of Beirut also demonstrated the changing nature of local food habits. Some 91 percent of households (among a survey of 931) have had to reduce the quantity of non-staple foods that they buy, and 33 percent of adults were skipping meals more than once a week.  

Need for Immediate Action 

Perhaps the worst part of the current food insecurity cycle is that it was predictable. For decades, the international community has warned that without a real long-term food and nutrition security strategy, Lebanon’s next food crisis would be deeper and existentially damaging. 

 Despite the urgency of the situation, the government is still struggling to pass a comprehensive economic recovery plan which could mitigate parts of the crisis. The paralysis has forced the mobilization of civil society and the extensive Lebanese diaspora to meet the growing desperation. Multiple grass-roots organizations, like Food Blessed or Matbakh el Balad, have since emerged and their thousands of volunteers are delivering food packages and warm meals across the country. But this remains a glaringly short-term emergency solution, and does not address root causes, which lie in the hands of the government. 

 In August, the United States announced a $29.5 million humanitarian aid package to Lebanon, which will target vulnerable populations in light of rising food insecurity. Within the package, $14.5 million will support vegetable and grain farmers with seed and seedling supplies to help local food production, among other projects for local producers. 

Lebanon has the highest proportion of arable land per capita in the Arab World, yet its agricultural sector is neglected. Nonetheless, the agricultural sector alone is no miracle cure. Only the adoption of a broader set of economic reforms will help restore confidence in the country and promote financial stability, thus prompting the international community to step up their assistance. Essentially, the world will help Lebanon when Lebanon helps itself. 

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Rouba Bou Khzam

Rouba is a journalist at Executive magazine
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