Global Food: "Food security crisis worsens due to fragile economic conditions"

The World Food Organization has published a report on the ongoing food security crisis in Syria, with a rise in food insecurity rates despite a relative decrease in food prices. Indicators in the report reveal that "food security challenges in Syria will not disappear soon, but rather worsen due to fragile economic conditions, ongoing conflict, and climate change, necessitating urgent responses from humanitarian institutions and stakeholders in the international community to prevent the crisis from escalating." According to the report, between November 2024 and January 2025, the country experienced an early drought, limiting access to agricultural fields and reducing rainfall, leading to an expected decrease in cultivated areas and crops, consequently reducing grain production in 2025. Rising prices of agricultural inputs such as fuel and fertilizers have pushed farmers to switch to more profitable crops like cumin, caraway, black seed, and coriander, deepening the grain production crisis. Reports from the Food and Agriculture Organization estimated grain production in Syria in 2024 at around 3.4 million tons, which is 13% lower than the average of the past five years and about 33% lower than the level before the Syrian revolution. The reasons for this decrease are attributed to poor rainfall distribution during the season, high temperatures in April and May 2024, the spread of plant diseases, in addition to high input prices. Despite the decline in local production, the FAO expects wheat imports to increase during the marketing year 2024/2025 (between July and June), surpassing the average of the past five years. However, ongoing economic fluctuations, depreciation of the national currency, and internal disruptions are all factors hindering the country's ability to secure its wheat imports in 2025. It is worth mentioning that estimates indicate that more than half of the population is suffering from food insecurity, including 9.1 million people in a state of acute food insecurity.