Climate Smart Agriculture: Enhancing Adaptive Capacity of the Rural Communities in Lebanon (AgriCAL)

Agriculture in Lebanon is one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate change due to the limited availability of water and land resources and the pressures of population growth and urbanization. Higher temperatures, reduced precipitation and higher evapo-transpiration will decrease soil moisture and increase aridity, which will affect the overall agricultural yield of crops. A decrease in productivity is expected for most of the crops and fruit trees and for grazing animals. The objective of the project implemented by International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is to support the implementation of climate change adaptation measures in the agriculture sector in three highly vulnerable areas, targeting the poor smallholders of various communities living in these areas. The overall goal of the project is to increase community resilience and adaptive capacity to climate change in Lebanon.

Objectives: The project aims to assist communities in adapting by improving water harvesting and irrigation technologies; setting up early warning systems and integrated production and protection of crops; introducing adapted crop varieties to future climate conditions; introducing risk-coping agriculture techniques; assessing the carrying capacity of rangeland in order to increase their resilience to climate change; improving the management of rangelands used by goat and sheep herders; initiating a pilot climate insurance index for the agricultural sector; and spreading awareness of (i) expertise, skills, and research results; (ii) facts and information, reports on project impacts and activities, and other data; (iii) awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation acquired through the project.