The National Council for Scientific Research-Lebanon (CNRS-L) and the Ministry of Agriculture released an assessment for agricultural damage and loss in war-affected agricultural areas in South Lebanon.
The assessment was done in coordination with major United Nations (UN) institutions, including the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the World Food Programme (WFP), covering direct damage/rehabilitation area, direct damage value, affected production-loss area, and estimated production loss value.
Major Figures
The assessment found that the estimated production loss value in war-affected agricultural areas in South Lebanon amounts to $530.5 million USD, with the affected production-loss area at 56,320 hectares.
Direct damage and rehabilitation area reached 1,380 hectares, with a direct damage value of $41.2 million USD.
Previously, CNRS, alongside the Ministry of Environment and in collaboration with FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture, found damages to agriculture amounting to $118 million and losses to $586 million between October 2023 and November 2024 in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa valley, with $263 reconstruction needs, including $95 million for immediate/short-term needs.
Long-Term Damages and Access
The damages to agriculture in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa valley represent harm to communities and destruction at multiple levels. On one hand, many people lost access to direct livelihood opportunities, missing harvesting seasons and losing incoming-generation opportunities, putting them at a precarious socioeconomic situation.
On the other, environmental damages, alongside continued attacks and occupation, are bound to produce long-term impacts on the ability of communities in impacted areas to recover socioeconomically, infrastructure to function, and economic activity to resume and be active again.
Direct access to lands in southern Lebanon, especially in areas near the border, remains implausible given the continued presence of Israeli forces and recurrent attacks. The resolution of short-term issues of access depends heavily on the course of negotiations and decisions between parties with influence in the war, including the United States, Israel, Hezbollah, the Lebanese government, and Iran.
