Resources on Agriculture, plantations, and other rural sectors

  1. © ILO Arab States 2022
    Lebanese farmers pay heavy price for Syrian crisis

    The tranquillity of Lebanon's fertile north belies a brewing crisis. Just two miles from Syria and its civil war, local farmers say the conflict has been disastrous for business

  2. Olive festival supports Jordan host communities in face of refugee crisis

    As part of the ILO’s efforts to support communities in Jordan most affected by the Syrian refugee crisis, the 2014 Irbid Olive and Rural Produce Festival brought together local farmers and businesses to showcase products and explore avenues to develop the olive industry.

  3. "Money finds us!" - Enriching the vegetable harvest in Timor-Leste

    How an ILO supported project helped a local community to improve their farming practices, develop their market access, create jobs and support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises.

  4. Agriculture and youth employment: The missing link

    The agricultural sector has a huge potential to create jobs but needs to polish its image in order to attract more young people. To do this, governments should provide relevant education and training.

  5. © François Xavier Marit / AFP 2022
    The need to invest in Africa’s rural transformation

    Boosting rural investment in Africa would create millions of badly needed jobs, as well as food security and resilience.

  6. © Farjanak K. Godhuly /AFP 2022
    A quiet revolution: Women in Bangladesh

    Women in Bangladesh have made major strides over the past decades, putting the South Asian country at the forefront among the least-developed countries in addressing gender disparity.

  7. Timor-Leste: When a short road makes a huge difference

    In a country where 75 per cent of the population live in rural areas and 40 per cent are below the poverty line, improving a short stretch of road can mean more jobs and a better quality of life for rural workers and their families.

  8. Egypt’s farmers: Sowing the seeds of an agricultural revolution

    Agriculture will be critical to future economic growth in Egypt, says the ILO – but only if the laws on farmers’ co-ops are reformed.

  9. Employment in Africa: Think agriculture!

    Why agriculture should be Africa’s top priority.

  10. From crisis to crisis: the impact of the global food crisis on decent work

    Since 2007, escalating food prices have created budget turmoil, trade imbalances and inflation and provoked panic and social unrest in some countries. Despite bumper harvests of rice and wheat in 2008 that may have alleviated some of the concern, economies are now grappling with a worsening global economic crisis. Is the evolution of lower prices for grains cause for hope, or will the economic crisis provide cause for fear? The food price situation was discussed in Geneva at an ILO meeting last month. ILO Online asked Dr. Riswanul Islam, Special Advisor on Growth, Employment and Poverty Reduction, to take stock of the impact of the global food crisis on decent work and poverty.