Syria’s Food Shortages Rise as Production Hits Record Low

Food shortages are increasing in Syria as production hits a record low, United Nations agencies report. A joint study by the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Program finds five years of civil war have severely limited farmers’ ability to cultivate their land. The U.N. agencies blame the deteriorating food situation on widespread insecurity and, in parts of the country, unfavorable weather conditions. Those factors prevent farmers from accessing their land and making it difficult for them to earn a living. The agencies warn that rising prices and a lack of fertilizer and seeds may force many farmers to abandon their land unless they receive immediate help. Few people in Syria have escaped the civil war’s devastating impact on agriculture, World Food Program spokeswoman Bettina Luescher told VOA.  "Before this war, Syria was a country that could feed its own people, that was pretty well off," Luescher said. "Now, 80 percent of the households are struggling all over the country. They either do not have enough money to buy the food [or] they have the lack of food. And it is just getting worse. Now, we have 7 million people who do not quite know where their next meal is coming from." The U.N. assessment shows vast differences among the governorates in terms of access to land. Luescher said the country’s 18 besieged areas are the hardest hit because people are trapped and unable to leave. At the same time, aid cannot 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,” Luescher said. “It is very hard to say how people will be coping there.”  The report has data on government, opposition and Kurdish-controlled areas. It lacks data on Islamic State-controlled areas because those are impossible to reach, Luescher said. The report also says widespread insecurity is limiting access to grazing land and water sources.  It says many herding families are unable to make ends meet and have been forced to sell or slaughter their sheep, goats and poultry.

From Middle East - Voice of America | VOA
via_IFTTT