Press. voanews.com
United
Nations agencies have warned that food shortages across Syria are growing as
production hit a record low. A joint study by the Food and Agriculture
Organization and World Food Program found that five years of civil war was
severely limiting the ability of farmers to cultivate their land.
The U.N.
agencies have blamed the deteriorating food situation in Syria on widespread
insecurity and unfavorable weather conditions in parts of the country. Those
factors, they said, “continued to hamper access to land, farming supplies and
markets,” making it difficult for farmers to earn a living.
The
study, which was based on the latest “Crop and Food Security Assessment
Mission,” shows that many farmers, after five years of conflict, have lost
their ability to cope. The authors of the study warned that rising prices and
lack of fertilizer and seeds might force many farmers to abandon their land
unless they receive immediate help.
Were this
to happen, they said, it would lead to grave consequences and might ultimately
cause further displacement. The United Nations estimates there are at least 6.6
million internally displaced Syrians and nearly 5 million refugees.
“Today,
we see almost 80 percent of households across Syria struggling with a lack of
food or money to buy food,” said Abdessalam Ould Ahmed, FAO assistant director-general
and regional representative, regional office for the Near East and North
Africa.
“The
situation is only going to become worse if we fail to support farmers so they
can maintain their lands and livelihoods,” he warned.
Field
visits and surveys across the country found that 2015-16 was the smallest crop
season ever. The report said farmers planted an estimated 900,000 hectares of
wheat last year, nearly half the amount planted before the crisis.
Meanwhile,
it said production showed an even more drastic decline, from an average 3.4
million tons of wheat harvested before the war began in March 2011 to 1.5
million tons this year - a decrease of 55 percent.
World
Food Program spokeswoman Bettina Luescher told VOA the devastating impact of
five years of civil war upon Syria’s population was inescapable. “Before this
war, Syria was a country that could feed its own people…Now, we have 7 million
people who do not quite know where their next meal is coming from.”
The World
Food Program feeds more than 4 million people in Syria every month. While this
is a substantial number, it does not cover all the people in need. According to
the latest household surveys, some 9.4 million people across Syria need
assistance.
The joint
FAO/WFP assessment shows vast differences among the governorates in terms of
access to land. Luescher said the country’s 18 besieged areas were the hardest
hit because people were trapped and unable to leave. At the same time, aid
could not get in.
“For
example, we are extremely concerned about the situation in eastern Aleppo at
the moment where the last food rations that have been provided by the U.N. have
been given out. It is very hard to say how people will be coping there,” she
said.
“Of
course, that is a very different situation than in the capital ((Damascus)),
where food is readily available on the markets and people can buy things.”
The
report collected data in government, opposition and Kurdish-controlled areas;
but, Luescher noted there was no data on Islamic State-controlled areas
“because they are impossible to reach.”
Impact on
livestock
The
report also looked at the effects of the civil war on livestock producers. It
said ongoing fighting and widespread insecurity continued to limit access to
grazing land and water sources, making it ever more difficult and costly to
maintain the upkeep of their animals.
“In the
past, Syria was an exporter of livestock, of animals,” said the WFP
spokeswoman. “Now the herds and flock have shrunk significantly.” She noted
that there were 30 percent fewer cattle, 40 percent fewer sheep and goats, and
60 percent less poultry, which was “the most affordable source of animal
protein in the country before this war.”
The
report said prices were rising across the board, inflation was going up and the
depreciation of the Syrian pound vis-à-vis the American dollar was
considerable. “Many herding families are unable to make ends meet and have been
forced to sell or slaughter their sheep, goats and poultry,” it said.