NEGOTIATING AGRARIAN CRISIS IN THE LEBANESE MARGINS: THE CASE OF BAALBEK-HERMEL FARMERS

Abstract

Despite its illegality, cannabis remains a profitable crop for small farmers. Its production remains concentrated in the South, where no market-distorting subsidies are provided. It is primarily an export crop that generates desperately needed hard currency. Cannabis farming is a coping mechanism for the majority of small farmers in the Baalbek-Hermel region, allowing them to survive the agrarian crisis and continue farming, which is critical to their livelihoods. However, cannabis production appears to adhere to the same economic principles as any other commodity traded in capitalist markets, resulting in a new strain of capital. Because of the prominent laws of capital competition, tribal relations, extra-legality, and the introduction of new techniques such as irrigation, what used to be an easy crop with low costs has become a demanding costly crop and therefore the profit is getting significantly less.