Extreme weather conditions during Syria’s seventh year of conflict has caused domestic cereal production to decline sharply, UN agencies announced on October 9th.
Wheat production this year fell to a 29-year low of 1.2 million tons, about two-thirds of 2017 levels. This was due to an extended period of dry weather early in the cropping season followed by heavy out-of-season rains, according to the latest Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM), conducted jointly by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP).
The conflict in Syria has also damaged vast farming areas, displaced thousands of Syrian farmers and triggered a sharp increase in the cost of agricultural inputs.
While more displaced people are returning to their homes and the number of people in hard-to-reach locations has dropped by two-thirds, the report estimates that 5.5 million Syrians remain food insecure and require some form of food assistance, a decline of around 20 percent from the year before. In addition, some 500,000 to 800,000 people in the northern governorate of Idleb may be food-insecure.
“Agricultural recovery is essential for Syria now and in the future,” says Mike Robson, FAO’s Representative in Syria. “FAO has focused on keeping production from collapsing during the conflict and is engaged in a host of activities in the country to support irrigation, livestock vaccination, household nutrition and entrepreneurship among the displaced.”
While improved security, stability and the re-opening of supply routes have led food prices to decline by around 40 percent compared to last year, prices remain almost seven times higher than before the crisis. With unemployment rates reaching up to 60 percent, families grapple with reduced purchasing power, restricting their ability to cover their basic food needs.
Original source: FAO
Published on 9 October 2018
