S15 - Session P4 - Enhancing agroecological practices among smallholders in developing countries: the prospects of a participatory guarantee system for Lebanon's organic sector

Authors: Mirella Aoun *, Rania Touma, A.C. Abboud

In Lebanon, like in most developing countries, small and marginal farmers are among the most vulnerable and food insecure. In such contexts, enhancing agroecological practices on smallholder farms and enabling them to adopt a local guarantee system contributes to their household food security which in returns impact positively the national food security. In Lebanon, after two decades of advocacy for the organic agriculture (OA) movement, the sector's potential in improving smallholders' livelihoods remains untapped and its progress hindered by many bottlenecks, among these are: a) the non-cooperative attitude among smallholders, b) the lack of technical assistance, and c) the high cost of third-party certification (TPC). We have investigated the economic sustainability of OA in Lebanon taking in the case of the tomato value chain; we also investigated the prospects of a participatory guarantee system (PGS) as an alternative to TPC. The study finds organic farming being increasingly expensive primarily due to the inherently high cost of production and the inefficient organization of the organic value chain. The analysis of the Lebanese OA sector revealed that PGS can be an alternative for Lebanese organic smallholders to stay in business at the local market. However, it should be established as a parallel guarantee system that complements TPC which remains a requirement for bigger producers and traders who are targeting export markets.