Beyond food aid: a sustainable approach to tackling food security in Syria

For over a decade, civil war between various state and nonstate groups has waged on in Syria, forcing many to migrate and seek shelter elsewhere. Others, choosing to stay put, have endured the consequences of bombed-out facilities and factories. Both populations, whether at home or in a displacement camp, have seen the conflict’s impact on diminishing food supplies.

According to the World Food Programme, 12.9 million people, including 7.2 million internally displaced persons, are food insecure, and 2.6 million people are at risk of hunger in the country.

“The root cause of food insecurity is the ongoing security situation since 2011 in northwestern Syria, which has led to the destruction of much infrastructure, especially agricultural facilities and those related to food security, such as bakeries, mills, and silos,” said Anas Almohammad, who was Food Security Cluster’s co-coordinator for the northwest Syria hub from 2018-2022.

The Food and Agriculture Organization puts the loss of production and damaged agriculture assets at $16 billion. An estimated $11 billion to $17 billion would be needed to kick-start the recovery.

“One can imagine that, especially after 13 years of being displaced, be it those who are in camps, or those who are within the host community, they have really exhausted all their own [means of] subsistence,” said Michel Saad, deputy director for the MENA region, operations and advocacy division at the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

While the conflict is the major driver, WFP also attributes the damaged supply chains and lack of food to record levels of inflation, occasional earthquakes damaging crops, and a weakened domestic food system. The COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing war in Ukraine, which both had a global impact on the ability to access vital commodities such as wheat and oil, have also made the situation in Syria worse.

“Farmers face big challenges in obtaining essential inputs for agricultural production, which has greatly affected communities' ability to achieve self-sufficiency,” said Abdullah Rajab, a field officer in Syria for humanitarian and development NGO Qatar Charity.

View over Zamka camp in Qabbasin, Al-Bab, northern Syria.

Internally displaced persons in Tal Ayshah camp, al-Rai, northern Syria.

The toll on local production

Wheat being harvested in Sheikh Yaqoob village, al-Rai.

Farmer Mahmoud Al-Badr lives with his four children and their families in the village of Haji Kusa in northern Aleppo. He told Devex of how prior to 2011, when the conflict began, he could grow a variety of crops including wheat, lentils, barley, and cumin. He’d grow 1.5 tons of lentils and 4 to 5 tons of wheat per hectare.

Mahmoud Al-Badr, a farmer living in the village of Haji Kusa in northern Aleppo.

Mahmoud Al-Badr, a farmer living in the village of Haji Kusa in northern Aleppo.

Before the war, Syria was almost self-sufficient, UNOCHA’s Saad explained, and wheat production was one of the country’s biggest industries. Production has since declined by 75%, primarily due to the destruction of farmlands and a shortage of agricultural inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, equipment, and animal feed.

Wheat production was one of Syria’s biggest industries before the start of the war in 2011.

Wheat production has since declined by 75%.

The impacts of the war, along with climate change, have affected the ability of farmers to grow crops.

“Since the crisis began, we can no longer apply fertilizer or pesticide,” Al-Badr, whose father owned the farm before him, shared. “We [also] had no sheep, no livestock, and no food from the high prices. … The whole area is financially strained.” Diminished rainfall as a result of climate change has also affected his ability to grow crops.

Anas Almohammad discusses the root cause of food insecurity in Syria.

Without wheat, only a limited amount of bread — a staple food in Syria — can be made. That limited amount then sells at an inflated price that many can’t afford. “We know that the prices have at least doubled if we compare to the same time last year, and then in some areas, prices have more than doubled, maybe tripled,” Saad said. A lack of staple products means more people are going hungry and their health is being jeopardized, Saad said.

“We are seeing the lack of investment … in development, which means that whatever systems people had in place to maintain their resilience become more and more eroded.”

— Michel Saad, deputy director for the MENA region, operations and advocacy division, UNOCHA

Internally displaced persons at a camp in Mare’, northern Syria.

While aid and United Nations agencies try to plug the gap, there’s limited funding available and the humanitarian response plan for this year remains only 26% funded. This makes it difficult to provide both local populations and those living in camps with seeds and food on a long-term basis. With no signs of the situation abating, a more sustainable solution to food access is needed.

“This is what we call, in our own terminology, a protracted crisis,” Saad said. “We are seeing the lack of investment … in development, which means that whatever systems people had in place to maintain their resilience become more and more eroded.”

Almohammad believes food aid must be linked to local production. “This would help reduce the heavy dependence on food aid by creating job opportunities and income-generating projects for our people inside Syria,” he said, explaining that one of the three main objectives of humanitarian workers includes strengthening resilience. The others are to conduct lifesaving activities and enhance and support protection.

A solution in action

Bread being kneaded at a bakery in Mare', northern Syria.

With the goal of achieving these three objectives, Qatar Charity launched the Support the Wheat Value Chain project in 2019 with UNOCHA and the Syria Cross-Border Humanitarian Fund. The project focuses on addressing the scarcity of agricultural inputs, generating jobs, and enhancing food production specifically in northern Syria, where the damaged cities of Aleppo and Idlib and camps holding the majority of the two million IDPs are situated.

Abdullah Rajab explains how the Support the Wheat Value Chain project is helping to build food security in Syria.

The project works by providing farmers with the seeds and fertilizer needed to cultivate one hectare of wheat. “If you spray it properly, it gives you excellent production,” explained Al-Badr, who is among the 120 farmers supported. The donated seeds and fertilizer mean Al-Badr has once again been able to grow 4 tons of wheat per hectare, generating a more substantial income as well as food for his family. “We have a good amount of surplus that we eat,” he said.

Grain silos at al-Rai.

Bakers picking up sacks of grain from silos at al-Rai.

Aside from providing agricultural inputs, Qatar Charity also trains farmers on how to cultivate the land in the most effective and climate-friendly ways. This helps to mitigate the climate-induced aridity caused by low levels of rainfall and ensure maximum yield, Rajab said.

Support the Wheat Value Chain project then connects farmers to local bakers who purchase the wheat directly for a subsidized price. Their bread is then distributed either at a discounted price or for free, with the support of Qatar Charity, to vulnerable communities, including internally displaced people in the populated camps of Afrin and al-Rai. “The project supports the entire wheat production chain, from the initial stages of cultivation to the final production of bread,” Rajab said.

At the same time, it also restores bakeries, wheat storage facilities, and mills that have been damaged by the fighting. So far, two new mills have been built, each with a production capacity of 50 tons of flour per day. The construction and running of these create jobs for locals, Almohammad explained. “These efforts aim to assist displaced individuals, both within and outside camps, as well as the local population,” he said.

Beyond simply food

Bread being distributed at al-Ameriyah camp near the town of Kafr Yahmoul.

Since its inception in 2019, the project has supported 120 farmers in cultivating their land effectively and procured 1,200 tons of wheat directly from farmers. By enhancing food production, northern Syria’s communities’ resilience to shocks has grown, the health of people has improved, and the economy has been stimulated, Rajab said.

To mark its fifth consecutive year, in 2023, an automated bread production line was established in Ma‘baţlī, Afrin district, capable of producing 15,000 loaves a day. The bread was distributed for free to internally displaced people in al-Rai and Afrin throughout 2023. Over 25,000 IDPs and an additional 5,000 individuals received free bread.

Looking ahead, Rajab said Qatar Charity plans to continue to expand the project by reaching more people, as well as by providing agricultural machinery to farmers while working to consider more climate-friendly agricultural engagement and the empowerment of women in rural areas.

Other organizations, said Rajab, should see the value in moving beyond food aid to supporting a sustainable food system. “Focusing only on food security without addressing other related issues may result in an intervention that is insufficient or unsustainable in the long run,” he said.

And this is not what people want. Saad said many communities ask not for food or medicine but for support in rebuilding their business, continuing their education, or acquiring new skills.

“[I issue] an urgent call for increased funding for humanitarian appeals. Keep in mind that people not only need a food handout; they need to be able to regain their dignity and be able to become productive again in their communities,” Saad said.