Youth, Economic Crisis, and the 'Return to the Land', the Case Study of Agriculture and Livestock Farming in West Bekaa

Abstract

Although the agricultural sector has always been a catalyst for economic growth in countries such as the ones situated in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, young people are still succumbing to the stigma revolving around it and livestock farming. In fact, these professions are affiliated with low status and lower salaries, rendering it unattractive to the youth and, therefore, causing an ageing in the workforce. Several other factors influencing this decision also include the lack of proper funding, regulations, and law supporting the youth, along with the lack of access to resources (such as land, water and raw material), education, and functioning infrastructure. The culmination of such conditions drives urban youth to look for employment opportunities in other sectors, and skilled/unskilled rural youth to pursue further education and/or to migrate to cities where bigger opportunities are offered. This also is even more difficult to women who seek to break away from the gendered nature of household activities. To further understand the challenges surrounding such a field, this thesis studies the case of West Bekaa in Lebanon as it still includes unutilized agricultural and arable lands. Mixed research methods, with a special focus on qualitative methodology, are used for an in-depth understanding of the raised topic. Data is collected from youth aged 18 to 30 in different villages in West Bekaa through personal phone interviews. Correlations are then drawn to understand the link between the respondents’ characteristics and their attitudes towards farming activities. The research also investigates the assault on rural culture and the impact it has on the food security at an individual, household, regional and national level. The study reveals that the main reasons behind the gradual disinterest of youth in agriculture and livestock farming include lack of access to land, resources, education, and the overall instability of the sector in Lebanon specifically. Following the onset of the economic crisis in 2019, access to foreign and local markets got increasingly difficult for farmers due to soaring prices of the currency devaluation, fuel, transport, and the impact the August 4th blast had on the functionalities of the port. As mentioned above, the absence of a supportive government resulted in a lack of security surrounding this field; in fact, the lack of regulations and protected income have restricted farmers to choose agriculture and/or livestock farming as a career path. This study is therefore significant in revealing rural youth’s perception on the agricultural sector and building recommendations around it.