According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) office in the country, about 1.5 million Lebanese residents and 700,000 Syrian refugees suffer from food insecurity.

The entity conducted a comprehensive analysis envisioning a deterioration of the situation between January and April of this year, with more than two million citizens in crisis due to the impossibility of guaranteeing food.

The worrying reality of food security is the result of a deep three-year economic collapse caused by the depreciation of the currency, the lifting of subsidies and the increase in the cost of living that prevent families from accessing enough food and other products of first necessity.

The FAO representative in Lebanon, Nora Ourabah Haddad, pointed out the urgency of transforming the country’s agri-food systems to make them more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable.

A study carried out by 55 national experts last September revealed that the northern district of Akkar has the highest level of acute food insecurity among Lebanese residents, followed by Baabda, Baalbek and Tripoli.

The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, Imran Riza, stressed that the nation cannot cope with the consequences of food insecurity, and called for greater support for farmers and businesses.

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