Agriculture is a vital sector that represents the backbone of local economy; the sector carries critical importance to local society and falls seamlessly into the Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training (LOST) livelihood strategies in supporting vulnerable communities. In one of LOST’s newest interventions in this sector and in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP), the organization has successfully finalized the planting of 5,831 pomegranate trees spread between 46 plots and installed drip irrigation pipes to these trees in the village of Bouday.
The project also included the installation of 3,200 meters of irrigation pipelines for drip irrigation, and landscaping of the surroundings of the artificial storage lake in Bouday, by planting Leyland trees around the lake and layering gravel as a pavement around the lake in an attempt to promote the area’s green tourism appeal that feeds back into livelihood.
The project was planned to be completed in 4 months, and took the team 2 months of intense work to finish. 357 cash for work beneficiaries participated in working on the project sites. These beneficiaries received training on agriculture so they can work in the field in the future. The training topics were about drip irrigation, tree care, and cultivation.
In addition to the training of the participants, 70 farmers, which were indirect beneficiaries, were also given training in agriculture such as irrigation methods, agriculture practices, agricultural calendar, alternative crops, and product marketing.
As a result of this project and with the help of the municipality, LOST created a water committee in order to distribute the water effectively between the 46 plots. LOST offered training to the water committee on topics such as communication skills, team building, and rationalization of water.
Once again, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training (LOST) have created new job opportunities and new sources of income for the community that will go far with supporting the Syrian refugee community and developing the vulnerable host community.
