According to BBC reporting from Syria, farmers like 46-year-old Maher Haddad from Seqalbia, near Hama, are experiencing catastrophic losses. His 10-acre wheat fields yielded only 418 pounds per dunum this year – less than half the normal harvest of 880-1,100 pounds. "We haven't recovered what we spent on agriculture; we've lost money. I can't finance next year, and I can't cover the cost of food and drink," Haddad told the BBC, explaining he now borrows from relatives to feed his two teenage daughters.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that Syria faces a staggering wheat shortfall of 2.73 million tonnes this year – equivalent to the annual dietary needs of 16.25 million people. With rainfall dropping by nearly 70% and crippling 75% of rain-fed farmland, the crisis extends far beyond rural communities.
"Food insecurity could reach unprecedented levels by late 2025 into mid-2026," warned Piro Tomaso Perri, FAO's senior programme officer for Syria. Currently, more than 14 million Syrians – 60% of the population – struggle to eat enough, with 9.1 million facing acute hunger.
Urban families are equally affected as bread prices skyrocket. Sanaa Mahamid, a 39-year-old widow with six children, has watched bread costs increase ninefold from 500 to 4,500 Syrian pounds per bag in just one year. Her family needs two bags daily – 9,000 pounds before accounting for any other food. "If the price of bread rises again, this will be a big problem. The most important thing is bread," she said.
The crisis presents an immediate test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa's administration, which took power after Bashar al-Assad's removal in December 2024. International agencies are scrambling to provide emergency aid, with the World Food Programme distributing $8 million in direct payments to 150,000 small farmers who lost their entire crops.
"We're trying to keep people in the farming game," explained Marianne Ward, WFP's country director for Syria. "If you're not going to make money, you're going to leave the land. And then you're not going to have people working in the agriculture sector, which is essential for the economy."
Syria's agricultural infrastructure, already decimated by war, faces additional challenges. Dr. Ali Aloush, agriculture director for Deir al-Zour region, Syria's breadbasket, explained that fuel prices reaching 12,000 Syrian pounds per liter make irrigation pumps unaffordable for debt-burdened farmers. While the government plans irrigation projects, including solar-powered systems, such initiatives require time and resources that Syria lacks.
As farming families sell livestock, reduce meals, and watch malnutrition rates rise among children and pregnant women, millions of Syrians face an uncertain future with only one immediate hope: praying for rain to break the devastating drought threatening their survival.
Photo: Gemini AI