Our Projects - Lebanon - Cultivating roots: becoming protagonists of your own future
In Lebanon, where agricultural power is concentrated in the hands of a few, the John Paul II Foundation puts people back at the center: farmers are once again given the right to be protagonists of their own future.
Our growth model seeks to help farmers in the poorest areas not only to improve productivity and make production chains more efficient, but aims for real structural change, in order to promote their autonomy and inclusion in markets..
The Middle East crisis is threatening the survival of Lebanese small farmers. Without direct access to markets, they are forced to sell their products through middlemen who impose unfair and illegal conditions. In this way they risk becoming the fragile link in the chain and becoming trapped in a perpetual state of vulnerability.
Food insecurity has reached alarming levels: according to the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture, 1.65 million people are in food emergency conditions, a number that is unfortunately growing.
Therefore, protecting small-scale farmers means ensuring food on everyone's tables.
The work of the John Paul II Foundation is based on a concept of sustainable agricultural development and seeks to provide farmers with a decent income so that they can have access to essential services without having to resort to usury loans to meet medical expenses, to send their children to school or to invest in their land.
We believe that a community that values small-scale producers is stronger and less prone to poverty and forced migration.Our commitment in Lebanon continues alongside those who cultivate hope for a more just future every day.