Farming under fire: Conflict, displacement, and the collapse of food security in south Lebanon

Context Lebanon's agricultural sector and food systems are facing unprecedented pressures amid overlapping crises: economic collapse, climate change, and the 2023-2025 armed conflict with Israel. Objective This paper investigates the compounded impact of conflict-induced displacement and climate stress on rural livelihoods, agricultural productivity, and food security in South Lebanon-an area marked by strategic agricultural value and climate vulnerability. Methods Drawing on 29 in-depth interviews with displaced farmers, cooperative leaders, and food producers from conflict-affected areas such as Marjayoun, Nabatieh, and Bint Jbeil, this qualitative study uncovers key disruptions in agricultural infrastructure, local markets, and household food access. Interview findings are also triangulated with published secondary quantitative data (IPC, FAO, WFP, and World Bank assessments). Results and conclusion s: The findings reveal how displacement led to the abandonment of farms, loss of livestock, contamination of crops, and collapse of cooperative models, exacerbating existing economic and climate stressors like currency depreciation, water scarcity, unpredictable rainfall, and reduced yields. Gendered impacts, informal solidarity mechanisms, and persistent energy and input shortages emerged as critical themes. The study highlights the urgent need for an integrated recovery strategy focused on smart irrigation, climate-resilient crops, market reintegration, and financial support for smallholders. The analysis is guided by a conceptual framework that treats conflict-induced displacement and climate stress as interlocking drivers of livelihood erosion, market collapse, and food and nutrition insecurity, with gendered and refugee-specific vulnerabilities at the core. Significance As Lebanon faces a worsening food insecurity crisis, with 1.17 million people in IPC Phase 3 or higher, rebuilding agriculture is no longer a developmental luxury but an existential necessity for national food security.