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Lebanon

mitment to cooperative development lio, FAO Lebanon strengthens align- Water User Associations to improve
is its partnership with the Ministry of ment between policy support and the equitable and sustainable man-
Agriculture and the General Direc- field-level interventions, enabling agement of scarce water resources.
torate of Cooperatives, supported by scalable and lasting impact. In fisheries, funded by Norway, FAO
the Government of Canada. Between In addition, through cooperatives, works with fisheries cooperatives
2019 and 2024, the programme producer organisations and other to strengthen governance, business
strengthened more than 250 women- community-based organisations, management and service delivery,
led groups across the country. A to- FAO contributes to empowering ru- contributing to more sustainable
tal of 265 groups received technical livelihoods for coastal communi-
and business development training, ral communities to strengthen gover- ties. Similar approaches are being
while 143 groups were equipped nance, increase women’s and youth expanded through livestock pro-
with productive assets that enabled participation, enhance access to grammes, where producer organi-
them to expand collective food pro- services and markets, and build re- zations help small-scale producers
cessing activities, improve product silience to climate-related and eco- improve productivity, meet quality
quality and generate income. nomic shocks. standards and better access markets,
The programme also strength- In the water sector, funded by the under projects funded by the World
ened the institutional capacities of Swiss Government, FAO supports Bank and the European Union.
the General Directorate of Coopera-
tives, enhancing its ability to sup- Lebanon Validates SESA for the National
port, monitor and coordinate coop-
erative development nationwide.
With funds from the government Agriculture Strategy 2026–2035
of Canada, FAO supported the Gen-
eral Directorate of Cooperatives by
strengthening its Management Infor-
mation System, which hosts sex-dis-
aggregated data from cooperatives
for improved analysis, management
and coordination.
“In a world often divided, coop-
eratives remind us that true strength
lies not in competition but in joining
efforts. Through solidarity, trust and
cooperative values we build a better
world” said Gloria Abouzeid, Direc-
tor-General of Cooperatives at the
Ministry of Agriculture. Building on lessons learned from
Building on these achievements the NAS 2020–2025, the new Strategy
and on the impact of the achieved re- addresses both emergency and struc-
sults of the Canada-funded project, tural challenges facing the sector and
FAO continues to promote farmers’ contributes to national food security,
collective action across Lebanon’s resilience and sustainable economic
agrifood systems. FAO is advancing growth.
an integrated and programmatic ap-
proach to collective action to drive The preparation of the NAS 2026–
inclusive and sustainable agrifood 2035 was launched in May 2025 un-
systems transformation in Lebanon. der the leadership of the Ministry of FAO reaffirmed its commitment to
This approach is structured around Agriculture, with technical support supporting the Ministry of Agriculture
three core pillars: strengthening in- from FAO. In parallel, a Strategic En- as a trusted technical partner, work-
stitutions and dialogue platforms; vironmental and Social Assessment is ing closely with national stakeholders
promoting climate-smart agricul- being conducted to ensure that envi- to enable effective implementation of
ture; and enhancing governance, ronmental sustainability, social inclu- the Strategy through strong coordi-
management, and rural finance ca- sion and resilience considerations are nation, partnerships and evidence-
pacities. By embedding collective fully integrated into the Strategy. based approaches.
action across its programme portfo-
Arab Agriculture 2026 27