“FAO warns of a further deterioration in food security: Syria’s wheat production has fallen to one million tons

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO estimated Syria’s wheat production for this year at 1.05 million tons.

The organization said in a report, on Monday, that the estimated harvested areas of wheat were 787,000 hectares, which is slightly more than half of the area harvested in 2019, adding that barley production decreased by 75% from last year.

Wheat production for the current season decreased by about half compared to the last season, as this year’s production is estimated at 1.05 million tons, while last year it amounted to 2.8 million tons, and decreased to a quarter compared to the period between 2002 and 2011.

The report added that farmers fear the high costs of production and transportation, in addition to the lack of high-quality agricultural materials and outdated agricultural machinery, noting that illegal drilling of groundwater over the past years is likely to have led to a lowering of the groundwater level.

The organization pointed out that a large proportion of the previously irrigated lands are still not irrigated due to lack of equipment, maintenance or lack of fuel.

 FAO pointed out that farmers lack cash at a time when fertilizer, fuel and harvest prices are rising, indicating that farmers are likely to face difficulty in obtaining seeds due to a significant drop in production last year.

 The report of FAO  indicated that seed quality is expected to be poor and germination rates are low. In spite of this, farmers continue to work their land due to the lack of alternatives for living.

The report recommended the need to respond to the needs faced by farmers in the 2020-2021 agricultural season, where immediate measures must be taken to support the agricultural sector and prevent further decline of productive lands, and that emergency support for this year has become critical because the next season is expected to have less rainfall. ususally.

The report clarified that the aim of providing emergency support to the wheat production sector in Syria is to alleviate shortages, improve access to materials that go into production, save fuel and not dispose of livestock due to high feed costs.

The report stated that it is likely that the high prices of feed and the lack of access to pastures will lead to a decrease in livestock breeding, because livestock breeders sold part of their herd to buy feed and other materials that go into their raising, indicating that the prices of dairy products, cheese and eggs rose to cover the high costs of feed and fuel.

The report indicated that the economy in Syria has suffered several setbacks over the past years, and the situation has worsened by the outbreak of the Corona virus and the economic crisis in Lebanon, in addition to the high rates of inflation, the weakening of the value of the Syrian pound, the shortage of basic products and the scarcity of fuel.

According to the World Food Program, more than 12.4 million Syrians, or 60% of the population, were food insecure in 2020, an increase of 5.4 million compared to 2019, and the situation may worsen further in 2021.