Some 1.5 million people in Syria will need urgent food aid over the next few months, according to an assessment by the UN and the Syrian government. Over the next year, up to three million people are expected to be in need of food, crop and livestock assistance. The report also says the agricultural sector has lost $1.8bn (£1.15bn) this year as a result of the conflict. The UN says the economic losses are grave, but the humanitarian implications are far more pressing. The report findings are based on a Joint Rapid Food Security Needs Assessment mission, conducted in June 2012, by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Syria’s Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform. “The effects of these major losses are first, and most viciously, felt by the poorest in the country. Most of the vulnerable families the mission visited reported less income and more expenditure – their lives becoming more difficult by the day,” said WFP Representative and Country Director in Syria Muhannad Hadi. Some of the findings include the following: Damage to the agricultural sector includes losses and damage to crops, livestock and irrigation systems Close to a million people need crop and livestock assistance such as seeds, food for animals, fuel and repair of irrigation pumps Strategic crops, such as wheat and barley, have been badly affected as well as cherry and olive trees, and vegetable production The crisis is due to the on-going insecurity, coupled with a…more detail
