20 January 2016, Rome (FAO): With the war in Syria now approaching its sixth year, agricultural production has plummeted and food supplies are at an all-time low, pushing millions of people into hunger.
FAO today called on governments to provide a boost in funding targeted at helping farmers keep their lands in production to prevent the situation from deteriorating even further.
Aid alone cannot feed the country
As national food production has collapsed, food prices in Syria have soared, he noted, with prices in some markets for wheat flour and rice jumping by as much as 300 percent and 650 percent, respectively, over the past 18 months.
Many farmers in Syria continue to produce, but are struggling to access seeds and fertilizers.
Livestock production is in jeopardy as herders cannot source or afford enough animal feed and veterinary services are no longer functioning. Food markets and distribution systems have been severely disrupted.
Restoring Syrian agriculture wherever possible is significantly cheaper than importing food assistance. For example, $100 in support enables a farmer to produce 1 tonne of wheat, whereas the same amount of cereal is much more expensive to import.
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