Syria’s traditional agriculture nears collapse amid drought and crop failures

This year, Syria is experiencing one of the worst environmental and climatic disasters in its modern history. Climate change, chronic environmental degradation, and the long-term effects of prolonged war have combined to push the country into an agricultural crisis, which now threatens the lives of millions.

This year, an unprecedented drought has caused a drastic collapse in crop production, particularly wheat, prompting the official government and the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (AANES) to compete for the limited produce available, highlighting the fragility of Syria's food security and the depth of the challenge facing the country's agricultural sector.

With declining rainfall and groundwater levels, alongside the mismanagement of the county's natural resources, millions of Syrians face food insecurity.

It is clear that this crisis is no longer a temporary or seasonal one, but rather a part of the region's long-term trajectory of desertification and climate change, requiring urgent national action and sustainable policies to ensure a minimum level of food security for citizens and stability for farmers.

Firas Saeed, director of agriculture in Aleppo, a major wheat-growing province, confirmed that production has "significantly declined this year, widening the gap between the quantities produced and actual demand for the crop".

He said there were around 45,000 hectares of irrigated wheat fields in the province, around 30 percent of which had failed due to drought, while 95 percent of rainfed crops had failed.

Saeed stressed the importance of Syria introducing "modern irrigation projects and climate-smart agriculture to avoid future damage, in addition to streamlining water usage through modern irrigation techniques."

Many farmers are struggling amid this harsh reality, in which farming no longer guarantees a livelihood, but rather poses a high-risk venture.

Mohammad Sheikho, a farmer from the countryside of Hasakah province, speaks in a voice racked with exhaustion: "We planted wheat hoping for a season that would repay the year's hardships, but there was no rain, and today's harvest doesn't even cover the cost of ploughing," he tells The New Arab.

"We're not asking for much, just to live off our hard work. But each year is more difficult than the last."

He adds in a desperate tone: "We don't know who to sell to and who to trust. The government offers one price, the autonomous administration another, and each asks us to sell to them, but no one offers enough to cover our expenses or guarantees our rights. The crop is poor … and there is no support, no insurance, not even subsidised fuel."

He continues: "We are forced to buy fuel from the black market at exorbitant prices. Fertiliser is expensive, and high-quality seeds aren’t available." He asks, "Why do we plant? What's the point if we sow and reap a loss?"

Khaled Al Bakara, a farmer in the Deir az-Zour countryside, also expressed his despair at the deterioration of agriculture in his area, stressing that the rain-fed farming methods he relied on for years were no longer viable due to the sharp decline in rainfall.

Bakara points out that the dearth of winter rains has led him to seriously consider abandoning his farmland, as he believes that continuing to farm will result in further losses. He explains that the cost of farming has skyrocketed, especially with the lack of government support, the scarcity of fertilisers, and the rising price of fuel.

The absence of any effective official intervention, he adds, from securing irrigation water to providing agricultural loans, has left farmers with two tough choices: either risk a season that may yield nothing, or leave the land fallow.

He says many farmers in his region were no longer able to afford working the last agricultural season, and some have already abandoned their lands, indicating the collapse of the traditional agricultural system in eastern Syria.

In the al-Ghab plain, one of Syria's most prominent farming regions, the situation seems little better, despite the widespread irrigation networks which have been able to provide more water than rain-fed areas. Youssef Shaheen, a farmer in the Hama countryside of the al-Ghab region, says agriculture is no longer what it was, even with widespread irrigation networks.

He says repeated droughts have significantly impacted the plain's water resources, causing river and groundwater levels to decline. Therefore, the quantities of water allocated for irrigation are no longer sufficient, and some canals have dried up prematurely, forcing farmers to rely on wells, despite the high costs associated with operating them.

Shaheen explained that this year's crop yield was down by about a third, even in lands that were regularly irrigated. He thinks farming in al-Ghab needs a total review, starting with modernising infrastructure, introducing government subsidies for essential supplies, and establishing genuine support programmes for affected farmers.

Otherwise, he said, "the region, which was the country's breadbasket, could end up abandoned lands with no one to cultivate them."

Dr Osama al-Abdullah, Director of the General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research, asserts that "Syria is suffering from severe climate changes: worsening droughts, increased desertification, deterioration of vegetation cover, high rates of soil erosion and salinisation, fire outbreaks, and deforestation."

He notes that Syria witnessed an increasing trend towards drought "between 1981 and 2021, with major droughts in 1999, 2010, 2014, 2017, and 2021, and this is set to recur in 2025 with unprecedented repercussions."

Abdullah also highlighted the mismanagement of water resources, noting that "the overpumping of groundwater, the lack of integrated management, and the use of traditional irrigation systems are all factors that have exacerbated the crisis."

He points out that the "efficiency of state irrigation networks is no more than 60 percent, meaning 40 percent of water is lost. The damage to drainage systems in Deir az-Zour has led to increased salinisation, and soil depletion is so severe that it is degrading the carbon stored in it."

Abdullah calls for "an official declaration of drought and an emergency plan to improve food security," stressing the importance of "adapting the current agricultural set-up to cope with drought, developing agricultural crop varieties resistant to harsh conditions, and updating early warning systems."

He also recommended Syria's transition to modern irrigation methods, "which could save approximately 50 percent of irrigation water compared to traditional methods, raising water use efficiency to around 90 percent". He highlighted the need to "rehabilitate degraded lands, and switch to crops compatible with water scarcity, which could bring good economic returns."

According to Haya Abu Assaf, Assistant Representative of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Syria, the current conditions were "the worst in nearly 60 years".

She adds that "about 75 percent of cultivated areas and natural pastures for livestock have been affected by drought and low rainfall, particularly affecting rainfed wheat, with a damage rate of about 95 percent. Meanwhile, irrigated wheat is expected to see a decline of between 30 and 40 percent compared to the usual quantities".

Abu Assaf points out that this "will lead to a gap of between 2.5 and 2.7 million tons of wheat," placing approximately 16.3 million people at risk of food insecurity this year.

Between climate change and mismanagement of resources and in the absence of urgent and coordinated solutions, food security in Syria appears to be entering a critical phase, the repercussions of which could last for years to come.

Hadia Al Mansour is a freelance journalist from Syria who has written for Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Monitor, SyriaUntold , and Rising for Freedom Magazine

Article translated from Arabic by Rose Chacko