Food insecurity, poor nutrition and poverty are closely linked and entail adverse consequences for the health and well-being of children and adults. They constitute major constraints to development efforts as they can imply lifelong negative effects on human development with impairments on physical and mental capacities of a population, resulting in an overall lower productivity and economic growth potential. Urban agriculture has been advocated as a strategy to improve food security. This paper exemplifies an urban gardening project that addresses food security and economic resilience of the Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese host communities executed in the suburbs of Beirut. The hypothesis underpinning this study is that urban agriculture holds the potential to contribute to increased food security and reduced urban poverty, by increasing the availability and accessibility to a variety of fresh foods that are rich in vital nutrients and by functioning as a source of livelihoods and income.
The Environmental and Sustainability Development Unit (ESDU) of the American University of Beirut’s (AUB), with the support of two other organizations, has jointly developed in 2015 urban gardening initiative in Beirut’s municipality Bourj Hammoud. 73 Refugees and their vulnerable host communities were provided with gardening kits, seeds, compost units and technical training to grow fresh fruit and vegetable on their rooftops and balconies. The official aim of the project was to build the food security and economic resilience of Syrian refugees and vulnerable members of their host communities. Within this study, ESDU project on Urban Agriculture is documented.