EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The ongoing crisis in Syria has put tremendous pressure on the coping capacity of both refugees and their host communities, impacting Lebanon’s agricultural economy and food production capacity, particularly in the most affected areas of northern and eastern Lebanon. The Government of Lebanon does not allow refugees to cultivate land, which has led to increased food insecurity rates among Syrian refugees and a critical need to assess alternative methods of food production for refugees and vulnerable host communities.
In response, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, through the Country-based pooled funds, contributed USD 148 698 for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) project OSRO/LEB/503/CHA, entitled “Improving the nutrition of Syrian refugees and host communities through garden walls”. The project was implemented from 15 September 2015 to 15 June 2016. The overall objective of the project was to promote diversified and quality food for vulnerable landless households through of deployment of micro-gardens.
The project targeted poor and vulnerable households representing a total of 170 direct beneficiaries (76 vulnerable Lebanese and 94 displaced Syrians), living in Akkar, Tripoli, and the Bekaa. FAO was responsible for overall coordination and implementation and the American University of Beirut (AUB) was the sub-implementing partner.
A micro-garden wall structure designed by the AUB and five other structures were tested, as well as one method with no structure (plastic crates distributed for use as planter boxes). The success, partial success or failure of each method was recorded and analyzed. The results showed that vertical planting systems (AUB wall and Trolly) recorded the lowest success rates while the simplest structures yielded the best results. In the refugees’ informal tented settlements, the plastic boxes supplied without any structure was by far the cheapest, easiest and most successful method.
A key finding, therefore, is that the simpler the structure, the better the success rate of the micro-garden. The availability of space, pest-resistant seed varieties, reliable water supply and protection from extreme weather were other key factors found to impact success rates.
With rare exceptions, women took the role of managing the micro-garden and the experience was well received by the 170 targeted beneficiaries. While the experience of micro-gardening was considered a fruitful addition to the family sites and improved the quality of life of the targeted beneficiaries in a very short period of time, the micro-garden technique should not be seen as a replacement of normal agriculture practices but only a substitution when the context prohibits the access of cultivable land.