Building Inclusive Markets and Decent Work for Syrian Refugees and Lebanese Host Communities (BOUZOUR)

The BOUZOUR project is aligned with the idea of “doing development differently” and therefore applies a market systems development approach. This approach tackles the root causes of market issues affecting people in poverty, aiming for lasting, sustainable changes. Instead of delivering goods and services directly, the project looks at the overall system in which people live and make a living, asking why certain groups struggle to access economic opportunities. By understanding these root causes, the project can design interventions that address them sustainably. This means collaborating with a range of public and private actors to incentivize and capacitate them so they can deliver goods and services sustainably. To guarantee sustainability, the project seeks to create win-win situations whereby both the actor delivering any good or service and the person receiving that service stand to gain from the transaction.

The BOUZOUR project focuses on the wider agriculture sector as a key sector for improving the livelihoods of both Lebanese and Syrian vulnerable population groups and in particular women of both communities, respectful of decent work conditions, and by addressing the interlinked challenges of food security, climate change and sustainable development. Through enhancing on-farm productivity with new technologies, the project aims to safeguard jobs for both Lebanese and Syrians workers, especially for female, while exploring local and international market opportunities through import substitution and export respectively.

Additionally, by developing specific agricultural value chains, the project aims to foster mutual benefits for both Lebanese communities and Syrian refugees including agri-businesses, farmers, workers, etc., easing job competition and thus contributing to improved framework conditions for peaceful coexistence of both communities. This approach represents an opportunity to enhance climate resilience, encouraging greener production practices that reduce vulnerability to climate-related risks.

Moreover, to unlock the full potential of agri-businesses and farmers leading to increased revenues, job security, and improved working conditions, the project addresses the root causes of key challenges and constraints they encounter. 

Furthermore, the project ensure that decent work standards and issues are mainstreamed across all interventions in a way that actions positively impact working conditions and strengthen workers’ rights. This includes identifying mutually beneficial solutions that enhance revenues and working conditions for all involved actors.

The overall strategy for this project will consist of several interlinked components that will work to achieve specific outcomes and ultimately contribute to decent job creation for individuals. The four different outcomes will be:

• Outcome 1: Increased productivity and decent working conditions in the covered horticulture sector
• Outcome 2: Farmers and agri-businesses connected to upgraded market opportunities in one identified sector
• Outcome 3: Farmers enabled to use solar energy systems for electricity generation  
• Outcome 4: Farmers and small agri-businesses capacitated to better manage their activities and resources