On a scorching afternoon in late August, farmer Ali Abou Dayya stood among his vineyards in Bhousha, high in the hills of the Bekaa Valley, turning over cracked bunches of grapes in his hands. The fruit had withered before it could ripen, a season without a harvest. “I couldn’t bring any grapes to market this year because they were in such poor condition,” he told Raseef22. Ali, who used to fill the market with fresh grapes every summer, found himself empty-handed this season. “I was hoping to salvage at least part of the harvest,” he said sadly, “but that didn’t happen.” A few kilometers away in Kfar Zabad, at the heart of the Bekaa Valley, the scene is strikingly similar. Farmer Wafaa Dghaydi watches her fields shrink from 500 to just 100 dunams (equivalent to 100,000 square meters, as 1 dunam equals 1,000 m²).
“This year, in the second season, we planted less than a third of the land,” she explained. “The water supply was not enough, and most of the wells had dried up. That’s when we realized the season was in danger.” Wafaa, who has been farming for over 35 years, cut her season short with a devastating loss. She added, “Potatoes were hit hardest. We chose not to plant them and relied instead on trees, because they can’t be left without water.” From Ali to Wafaa, one reality emerges: drought is devastating harvests and inflicting irreparable losses on farmers. But the threat extends beyond their livelihoods. It raises a pressing question: If harvests continue to fail at this pace, will Lebanon’s food supply be at risk?
Seasons wither prematurely
The year 2025 has been anything but ordinary. Winter ended early, snow melted quickly, and rainfall fell to less than half the annual average. Rivers ran dry in May instead of July, and water levels in wells plummeted. Temperatures rose above normal and remained high for extended periods, damaging crops at a critical stage. Facing these harsh conditions, Ali resorted to buying water from tankers and filling small reservoirs, but the effort proved disastrous. “I lost about 80% of the crop,” he said.
“The rest could not be sold on the regular market and had to go to presses at a low price.”
These are just some of the struggles Lebanese farmers are facing recently due to climate change. Environmental journalist Mostafa Raad explained to Raseef22 that “What’s happening isn’t a seasonal crisis, but rather a long-term pattern linked to climate change. Snow that used to remain on the mountains for 110 days now barely lasts 30 or 40. Rain that used to fall steadily over a month now falls in a single day, in torrents the ground can’t absorb.” He added that “The decline in agricultural production is no longer just a technical issue. It’s a direct threat to food security and the local economy.” Wafaa echoed this. “In the local market, farmers are crying. We plant with dollars but sell for Lebanese pounds, and in the end, we barely break even, or we lose.”
Governmental initiatives
Amid this bleak reality, some projects have emerged to ease the crisis, albeit to a limited extent. The Minister of Agriculture, Nizar al-Hani, told Raseef22 that the ministry is working on several fronts to tackle the water shortage. “In the short term, we are focusing on promoting rational water use and encouraging drip irrigation,” he said. “In the medium term, we are working with the Green Plan Project and the World Bank to create larger water reservoirs.”
According to al-Hani, Lebanon’s battle over water is a daily one, with solutions ranging from urgent measures to reduce consumption and promote drip irrigation, to building mountain ponds, developing World Bank-supported projects, and investing in modern farming methods such as hydroponics, with contracts that link farmers directly to factories and markets. Al-Hani added that coordination on the water issue has become a daily task with the Ministry of Energy, the Litani River Authority, and regional water authorities. “Water is a fundamental and shared concern. We are working to make agriculture more resilient to climate change by encouraging modern farming systems like hydroponics, which need less water.”
Al-Hani continued: “Through the Green Plan Project, we build dozens of mountain ponds each year to support small farmers, from small tanks with a capacity of 40 cubic metres, to medium-sized plastic reservoirs, to larger collective mountain ponds. Our goal is to help farmers stay on their land rather than abandon it.” He further stressed the importance of contract farming: “We don’t want farmers growing crops without a guaranteed market. That’s why we’re promoting contracts that link farmers directly to factories or consumers. This approach has worked well in the poultry sector and with wine producers, and we hope to expand it to other crops.”
Farmland left idle this season after wells dried up – Kfar Zabad, Central Bekaa”. Photo: Wafaa Dgaydi
Non-governmental initiatives
Alongside government efforts, local and international initiatives are stepping in. In Zahle, the capital of the Bekaa governorate, a wastewater treatment plant was reactivated with support from UNICEF. It is the only plant in Lebanon with a triple-treatment system that includes ultraviolet light. The plant provides treated water for irrigation, providing an additional resource. However, its future is uncertain, as it depends on continuous maintenance and funding.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI) and the Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training (LOST), through the Resilient Water Solutions to Address Climate Change in Jordan and Lebanon Project, funded by UN agencies, have launched a pilot site for sustainable agriculture in Tall Amara, near Rayak, in the central Bekaa Valley. Spanning more than 20,000 m², the site tests climate-resilient farming systems and trains farmers and students in techniques that help them adapt to changing conditions.
Christian Chekieh, project manager at LOST, told Raseef22: “The initiative shows how partnerships between scientific research and local communities can deliver practical solutions to water scarcity. It opens the door to a more sustainable agricultural model for the Bekaa Valley and for Lebanon as a whole.”
Drought sows fear and deepens gaps
With few clean water sources left, some farmers have been forced to irrigate their fields with water from the polluted Litani River. Environmental journalist Mostafa Raad warned that “vegetables irrigated by the Litani River reach restaurants and hotels in Beirut every day, sometimes causing cases of food poisoning and salmonella.” Yet the Lebanese farmer’s options are narrowing. On top of extreme weather, the local market is flooded with smuggled vegetables. “If only the export routes were open, farmers could get back on their feet,” said Wafaa. “Today the Lebanese market is dead, and every day cheaper imported vegetables undercut our produce.” Raad explained that in 1991, Lebanon signed an agreement with the Arab League allowing goods to be exchanged free of customs duties.
“The result has been a trade deficit, with more imports than exports.”
But the crisis now extends far beyond agriculture. Raad recalls an incident in the Bekaa Valley where armed men attacked a farmer and seized his well. He warns that drought could become a social time bomb, with such scenes likely to repeat as the crisis deepens. Large landowners can afford to drill deeper wells or install solar-powered pumps, while small farmers are often forced to abandon their land or work for others. As a result, class divides are growing wider, leaving small farmers trapped between an unforgiving climate and an unfair market. At stake is more than livelihoods; it is the future of Lebanon’s food supply.
Lebanese food is at stake
What’s happening in the Bekaa is no longer merely agricultural crisis; it has become a national emergency, affecting water, food, and social stability. Mostafa Raad warned: “The food security crisis cannot be solved by looking only at climate. We need rational water management and integrated commercial, agricultural, and marketing policies. In Lebanon, for example, the pilot project growing tomatoes with saline seawater succeeded and reached the market… so why not expand such efforts instead of keeping them isolated?”
Many farmers are considering abandoning seasonal crops or even emigrating, while others struggle to hold on despite their losses. The choice is stark: either Lebanon adopts a national plan for water and agricultural management, or the country faces a future of parched fields and shrinking food supplies.
Farmer Wafaa Dghaydi summed up her frustration: “We can give up seasonal crops and keep the trees because we cannot cut off their water supply. But if it stays like this, most farmers will leave their land and migrate. I will be one of them.” By contrast, Ali Abou Dayya refused to walk away despite his losses: “If the crisis continues, I might uproot the vineyards and switch to crops that require less water. But I will not abandon the land.”
Between one voice considering leaving and another determined to stay lies Lebanon’s urgent dilemma: either the state and society act now to save both the land and the table, or face a future where the fields run dry and the nation’s food is at risk.
This article was first published in Arabic on Raseef22 on 25 September 2025.
Translated by Mariam Younes.