• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home World

Syria Harvest Boom Brings Hope as Hunger Spikes

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
07/03/20
in World
Farmers in Syria reap a bounty amidst US sanctions, war and a slow economy

Farmers in Syria reap wheat amidst US sanctions, war, and a poor economy. Photo: AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Watching a combine harvester grind through his golden wheat, farmer Yahya Mahmoud is relieved the yield looks good this year, even as a tanking economy leaves millions hungry across war-torn Syria.

Before the war erupted in 2011, Syria produced enough wheat to feed its entire population but harvests then plunged to record lows, boosting reliance on imports, mainly from regime ally Russia.

Heavy rains and reduced violence in parts of the country this year have led to a much-improved harvest, one that farmers and officials hope will soften the blow of an economic crunch that has plunged millions into food insecurity.

In the Al-Kaswa region near the capital Damascus, Mahmoud eyed yellow wheat stalks, their ribbed tips shining under the strong June sun.

“I rushed to harvest my wheat crop this year… to feed myself and my family,” said the 61-year-old farmer, fearing crop fires as summer temperatures soar. “Those who grow wheat don’t go hungry,” he added, a brown hat covering his head.

More than nine years into a conflict that has killed over 380,000 people and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population, a staggering 9.3 million Syrians face food insecurity, the United Nations says.

The value of the Syrian pound has reached unprecedented lows against the dollar on the black market, sending prices soaring in a country where the UN says nine out of 10 people now live in poverty.

The crisis has been compounded by a COVID-19 outbreak and new US sanctions against Syria.

‘A Blessed Year’

In a bid to ease the crisis, many are looking towards the agriculture sector, which the UN says forms the largest part of the Syrian economy and contributes to the livelihoods of millions in rural areas. Farmers across the country this year were able to use 70 percent of the land allocated for cereal production, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

In #Syria, @FAO is distributing seeds & restoring irrigation systems so farmers can continue growing food, & get back on their feet amidst #COVID19 challenges.

Mike Robson, @FAOSyria Representative, explains 👇#InvestinHumanity #SyriaConf2020

pic.twitter.com/pOlfxyXLIy

— Food and Agriculture Organization (@FAO) June 30, 2020

Mahmoud cultivated four hectares (almost 10 acres) of land with wheat instead of one in previous years, he told AFP.

“It was a blessed year, with plentiful rain, so we had to make use of it,” said the farmer, who returned to his plot two years ago after the government recaptured areas around Damascus from rebels.

Inspecting fields nearby, Hisham al-Sayyad, a local agricultural official, said farmers in Al-Kaswa have cultivated 3,000 hectares of land this year, which is 1,000 more than the year before.

“Syria is an agricultural country,” said Sayyad. “Despite sanctions and an economic siege, agriculture can help us achieve self-sufficiency.”

Bigger harvests alone do not guarantee better lives for Syrians, however. Price hikes fuelled by the Syrian pound’s tumble have made it more costly for farmers to purchase water, pesticides, seeds, and fuel.

Imports of key agricultural equipment has become very expensive, said Taleb Khalifa, a 51-year-old crop grower. “We are facing a serious challenge,” he said, inspecting the engine of a combine harvester.

Self-Sufficiency

To make matters worse, fresh US sanctions came into force mid-June, exposing anyone doing business with President Bashar al-Assad‘s government to travel restrictions and financial penalties.

This has spurred fears that foreign companies may be liable if they do business in government-held parts of the country.

Due to the imperialist proxy war and murderous US/EU sanctions on Syria, "A staggering 9.3 million Syrians are now going to sleep hungry and another 2 million are at risk of a similar fate"

This is a rise of food insecurity in Syria by 42% since 2019https://t.co/GVoeTlMHvy

— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) June 30, 2020

Khalifa’s combine is the only functional one in all of Al-Kaswa and is used to harvest several plots. He feared US sanctions could hamper the import of spare parts if it broke down. “The sanctions, in general, are adding to our woes.”

Earlier in June, Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said Syrians should wean themselves off imports and rely on local products to combat the effects of sanctions.

Haytham Haydar, the director of agricultural planning in the Syrian government, echoed this view.

“We hope to return to large pre-war production levels” of wheat, which stood at around 4.1 million tonnes, he said from his Damascus office. He said wheat production this year reached 3 million tonnes, up from around 2.2 million tonnes last year.

Haydar acknowledged “rising production costs” but blamed it solely on Western sanctions he described as a “war” on food security.

He said the “economic blockade” on Syria would only boost agricultural production. “Syrians will rely on their own production capacities to weaken reliance on imports as much as possible,” he said.

ShareTweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

A Syrian government flag flies above the rubble in the neighbourhood of Hajar al-Aswad near Yarmouk refugee camp on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria
Middle East

UN Security Council Convenes Over Situation in Syria

by Staff Writer with AFP
December 9, 2024
Chinese President Xi Jinping
World

China Announces ‘Strategic Partnership’ With Syria

by Staff Writer
September 22, 2023
Syrian rescuers and civilians search for victims and survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building, in the rebel-held northern countryside of Syria's Idlib province on the border with Turkey, early on February 6, 2023. Syrian rescuers (White Helmets) and civilians search for victims and survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building
World

Quake Kills Over 1,200 Across Turkey, Syria

by Staff Writer
February 6, 2023
Bashar Assad
Middle East

Syria Frees 60 Prisoners in Presidential Amnesty: Monitor

by Staff Writer
May 3, 2022
US Syria raid
Middle East

ISIS Chief Blows Himself Up During US Raid in Syria

by Staff Writer
February 3, 2022
Syrian colonel trial
World

Germany Convicts Syrian Ex-Colonel in ‘Historic’ Torture Trial

by Staff Writer
January 13, 2022
Next Post
An election worker sorts vote-by-mail ballots for Washington state's presidential primary on March 10 in Renton, a suburb of Seattle.

Why Voting by Mail Is Part of the Right to Vote

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani during a press conference at the Presidential Palace in Kabul on July 9, 2018. Photo: Wakil Kohsar/AFP.

Afghan President to Push for Peace Talks with Taliban

Please login to join discussion

Recommended

An Iranian protester

Iran’s Nuclear Program: From Its Origins to Today’s Dispute

June 23, 2025
Protesters and police clash during the “No Kings” protest in Los Angeles, California on June 14, 2025.

US Appeals Court Allows Trump Control of National Guard in LA

June 20, 2025
Donald Trump

Fact vs. Fiction: The Trump Administration’s Dubious War on Reverse Discrimination

June 18, 2025
Iranian missiles and Israeli interceptors light up the sky over Beirut, Lebanon, on June 14, 2025. Iran launched multiple missiles toward Israeli targets, triggering interception attempts above several regional capitals, including Beirut.

Israel-Iran Conflict: Latest Developments

June 18, 2025
Tens of thousands of protestors shut down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Saturday, April 5, 2025, protesting the Trump administration's abuse of the separation of federal powers as well as the deep cuts to governmental services overseen by presidential advisor Elon Musk.

Civil Society Is Holding the Line. Will Washington Notice?

June 17, 2025
An Iranian walking in front of a wall painting of the Iranian flag in Tehran

How Much Damage Has Israel Inflicted on Iran’s Nuclear Program?

June 16, 2025

Opinion

Donald Trump

Fact vs. Fiction: The Trump Administration’s Dubious War on Reverse Discrimination

June 18, 2025
Tens of thousands of protestors shut down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Saturday, April 5, 2025, protesting the Trump administration's abuse of the separation of federal powers as well as the deep cuts to governmental services overseen by presidential advisor Elon Musk.

Civil Society Is Holding the Line. Will Washington Notice?

June 17, 2025
A Black Lives Matter mural in New York City.

Fuhgeddaboudit! America’s Erasure of History

April 2, 2025
Bust of Deputy Rubens Paiva in the Chamber of Deputies

Democratic Brazilians Are Still Here

March 18, 2025
A woman from Guatemala

Dispatch From Central America

January 28, 2025
US President Donald Trump

Dear Trump Supporters: Is This the America You Wanted?

January 28, 2025
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post