Dietary Diversity in Lebanon and Yemen: A Tale of Two Countries

Abstract

The differences in food production systems in Lebanon and Yemen are described. Briefly, in the traditional agro-pastoral communities in the arid and marginalized region of Arsaal in Lebanon, conflict over land has been ongoing for many years. This region is also experiencing climate change (less rainfall) and lost soil fertility. To survive, many Arsaalis have switched from food crops to growing cherry trees. Some are engaged in more profitable stone quarrying rather than agriculture. Others have abandoned the area altogether to seek jobs in the city. On the other hand, in Yemen, rapid rural transformations began in the 1970s when water pumps were introduced to the lowlands and the lower to medium altitude plains. Like many other countries, Yemeni agriculture was transformed by irrigation, leading to expansion to previously uncultivated lands. This new water-supply practice encouraged the production of cash crops that consume significant quantities of water and require chemical fertilizers and pesticides, which the poorer farmers cannot afford. Forty years of such practices have led to the depletion or salinization of groundwater resources. Rural transformations have also included expanded Qat production (a shrub whose leaves are widely chewed like tobacco to produce a mild euphoric effect), and fruit production for export. As a result, the traditional rain-fed highland areas that used to produce subsistence food crops, such as sorghum and wheat, have dramatically changed: local foods traditionally grown in this area are disappearing. The implications of these issues to human nutrition are analysed. Results of projects instituted to address these problems are presented. The projects demonstrated the link between nutrition and livelihoods, created stronger markets for local food, and infl uenced changes among the practices of producers and consumers. These results have the potential to encourage more sustainable agro-ecological practices and local agro-biodiversity to avoid jeopardizing the sustaining ecosystem, improve nutrition and health, and increase national food security.