Thousands of families of farmers were affected by difficult weather conditions when they were already facing higher food prices.
"The production of wheat and barley fell by 53% and 68% in 2008 (compared to the previous year). ( Finance Information City )According to a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which provides regular updates on world production, including that of Syria, poor harvest due to prolonged drought, the low level of water in the Euphrates and the Khabour which limited irrigation, as well as abnormally high spring temperatures, which have given rise to low yields.
From January to July, food prices had already increased by 20%, the Syrians are also increasingly using bread subsidized by the state.
The wheat harvest, considered a strategic resource, is less than two million tonnes in 2008 against five million tonnes in previous years, according to official figures.
In response, the Syrian Ministry of Agriculture and the Agency of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently signed a document providing for the grant of "urgent aid to farmers and ranchers affected" , Particularly in the north and east.
FAO and other UN organizations have launched an appeal fund 20 million dollars in aid, including 9.3 million USD for farmers and ranchers. The Agency has already funded a project in emergency aid of 500,000 dollars to 5000 Syrian farmers most affected by drought, and offered two million dollars in food aid.
"Syria is experiencing the worst drought in forty years and faces a growing risk of malnutrition," said the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations (OCHA) in Geneva in early October.
Up to 59,000 small farmers have lost almost all their herds and 47,000 farmers have lost 50-60% of their livestock.
The country's annual consumption of wheat is expected to reach 4.8 million tons this year, of which 500 000 tonnes used to feed livestock, meaning that the government will dip into its reserves, and eventually begin importing, to ensure supply its population cheap flour for bread production.
No one knows precisely how much wheat the government has in its inventory, but according to industry experts there were approximately five million tonnes: "Unless we n'améliorions our irrigation systems in two or three years We will face a serious crisis "they predict.
In the short term, the immediate challenge that faces the government is to increase the supply of cereals public key, by buying more domestic production, is important, while trying to bridge the budget deficit, which doubled to 10% of GDP in 2007.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, however, nothing has been planned to increase the number of irrigated wheat fields, which represent about 50% of all wheat fields. "The availability of water is the primary constraint on the deployment of irrigation systems," said al-Ashkar.
0 comments:
Post a Comment