Context:
Years of conflict, erratic rainfall patterns, droughts, and widespread water scarcity have severely weakened agriculture in Syria. The country’s food production has hit an all-time low. Cultivable areas have shrunk due to shortages in irrigation water and electricity as well as rising costs of essential inputs. Agricultural yields decreased while the risk of crop failures grew, and extreme weather events contribute to soil erosion. Current agricultural practices like flood irrigation result in over-extraction of groundwater and are therefore not viable. Longstanding political fragmentation hindered access to markets and hampered the development of adequate national strategies for water and agriculture. Moreover, employment and training opportunities in the field are insufficient. As a result, the resilience of local agricultural and food systems to external shocks is inadequate.
Objective:
The resilience of agriculture and food systems in Northern Syia is improved.
Approach:
To improve food security as well as the social and economic situation of the Syrian people and to make agriculture more climate resilient, the project implements measures to
- Improve and expand access to agricultural water resources, including reclaimed wastewater
- Support pastoralists and farmers along different value chains to adopt sustainable agricultural and breeding practises, e.g., through cooperative approaches
- Improve access to markets and business services of agricultural micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs)
- Support communities in developing strategies for environmental protection and to reduce disaster risks.
The project is co-funded by the European Union (EU).
As of June 2025