FSL

One would be impressed by the Syrians’ determination to continue their lives in the face of a fierce war that has been going on for more than seven years and has damaged most of the infrastructure in many parts of Syria. It has become difficult for the Syrians to advance production and secure a living under these harsh circumstances. Indeed, there is an urgent need for emergency response with food aid, shelter, hygiene kits and winter baskets for more than 6.1 million internally displaced persons, especially with the recent high level of fighting that has led to the displacement of about 300,000 civilians in Idlib governorate, in addition to the displacement of a large number of people from rural Damascus and northern Homs. However, most Syrians prefer to produce their own crops and earn their livelihood rather than simply getting food aid baskets. This has led many humanitarian organizations to establish food security and livelihood support projects in a way that allows people to have a decent and sustainable livelihood.

An example of this is the project launched by King Salman Humanitarian Aid And Relief Centre to enable the most in need families of displaced people and the host communities in a number of Syrian governorates to support agricultural activities and support the livestock sector. The project is being implemented in cooperation with Ihsan Relief and Development.

The project consists of two main sections. The first is to support the agricultural activities in the western Aleppo countryside and the Qalqat al-Mideq area in Hama governorate. The second section is to support the livestock sector in Daraa governorate and in the A’azaz area in the northern Aleppo countryside.

The section of supporting agricultural activities, is based on two stages: the first was the support of 3390 resident families and 3,390 displaced families through the distribution of sufficient seeds for the cultivation of 3.5 dunums of summer vegetables (tomato – pepper – eggplant – cucumber). 0.5 Donum (home gardens for displaced families). A ​​relationship is established between the beneficiaries and the displaced by giving preference to the host population who agree to give 0.5 dunums of their land to a displaced family free of charge for planting them as a garden for the summer vegetables to be cultivated. The project team provides balanced fertilizers (NPK), agricultural pesticides and a fuel to support supplemental irrigation of 60 liters per beneficiary.

The second stage of supporting agricultural activities in the project: IhsanRD is providing sufficient seeds to plant 5 dunums per beneficiary at a rate of 25 kg per dunum to 3390 beneficiaries, distributed according to the importance of the wheat crop in each area, availability of areas, population, availability of natural resources. The beneficiaries are supported by NPK compound fertilizer at a rate of 15 kg per dunum to meet the wheat crop needs throughout its biological stages. As well as the provision of agricultural pesticides and the distribution of fuel vouchers to support supplementary irrigation for resident and displaced families. Courses will also be held, including technical training for the target farmers, to increase their knowledge skills on the best agricultural practices for growing wheat crops, in line with basic agricultural practices.

The second section of the project supports livestock in two activities: The first is the distribution of 4020 sheep with fodder for three months, and 2010 families will benefit of this activity where each family gets two sheep heads. The distribution will be carried out in A’azaz and Daraa areas, with securing vaccines for sheeps.

The second activity is to provide 100 dairy cows with fodder for two consecutive months for 100 beneficiary families in the mentioned areas.

The necessary medicines and vaccines will be provided and the veterinary supervision of these cows for six months, during this period, a portion of milk (5 kg) of each cow will be taken daily and distributed to 100 displaced families in the same targeted areas.

Dr. Mustafa, a project manager at IhsanRD, expressed the importance of this project by saying: ” The need for Syrians is no longer limited to the demand for sustenance through the monthly food basket, but the need to feel their ability to produce has motivated them to withstand the harsh conditions they face. This project, which is being funded by King Salman Humanitarian Aid And Relief Centre, is a very important step in the right direction towards empowering people with the ability to secure their daily lives and live in dignity.”

Bread is an essential food for people in general and for the Syrians in particular. Perhaps Syrians are the most people who appreciate and feel the grace of bread, so that if a Syrian saw a piece of bread lying on the ground he would hasten to take it and wipe the dust out of it then put it aside in a high place where no foot trample this piece of bread. Today, the blessing of bread has become a hard to reach for many in Syria, after the years of war have exhausted the infrastructure and caused most of the food facilities and bakeries being out of service because of shelling, especially in areas that came out of control of the Syrian regime.

Abu Rami, a resident of Idlib province in northern Syria, have to cross more than 15 kilometers every day to secure a bread bag for his family. He expressed the magnitude of the difficulties he faces: “Sometimes I take the distance on foot. It’s true that it’s exhausted but I do not always have the fare”. then Abu Rami continued: “I used to bring bread from the bakery in my town, but it has been out of service because of the damage from the shelling for more than four years,” he said.

In an effort to enhance food security and support the livelihoods of the most people in need in Syria, Ihsan Relief and Development, in cooperation with WHH, is implementing a number of rehabilitation projects for bakeries in the north of Syria funded by the German Foreign Office. IhsanRD team in Idleb Governorate is still working on rehabilitating and equipping the mechanized bakery in Mehemble, which provides service to 11 towns in Ariha area by rehabilitating and repairing the damaged machines and renovating the building. This will contribute to the provision of bread to more than 20,000 residents of the area with a production card up to 5.5 tons of bread per day.

It is worth mentioning that IhsanRD has so far rehabilitated 4 automatic bakeries in the towns of Mehemble and Kafranbal in the province of Idlib and the towns of Rastan and Talbisa in the province of Homs.

In Syria, which has been suffering from a continuous war for more than seven years in which the number of victims exceeded 500 thousand Syrians, caused the displacement of half the population, and damaged the economic and agricultural pillar in one of the oldest countries in the world that knew and flourished agriculture. Not long ago, before the outbreak of recent events, farming provided a quarter of Syria’s economic output and employed a quarter of its workforce.
However, the systematic war and bombing in areas that have been out of control of the Syrian regime since 2011 have destroyed infrastructures, such as irrigation canals and grain silos, and crippled a state system that once provided farmers with seeds and purchased their crops. A sustained drought has only exacerbated the humanitarian crisis.
IhsanRD has intervened to assist farmers and vulnerable families in IDP’s host communities in order to enhance their ability to produce the various crops and food needed to feed their families and children.
Dr. Munther, Coordinator of Food Security and Livelihoods Program at IhsanRD, expressed the organization’s strategy and vision for its projects: “Relief baskets and emergency response cannot last forever, so projects need to be launched in order to help communities in starting their own businesses, to meet their food needs. We are trying to help people stand up and rely on themselves to start generating their own income.”
IhsanRD in collaboration with ACTED International has launched a new agriculture support project that includes two main activities:
The first activity is supporting for 3600 households to plant their houses’ gardens by supplying them with seeds, drip irrigation systems, tanks and agricultural tools.
This part of the project will extend over a period of 3 years so that each year will have new beneficiaries. Each family will receive two sets of gardening inputs per year for the winter and summer seasons. It will suffice for a garden area of about 1 dunum and provide an additional supplement to the food needs of each household.
The provision of inputs to the beneficiaries in the form of vouchers distributed in summer and winter can be replaced by a set of garden tools and inputs that were designed and studied in advance in the local stores. These kits will increase the accessibility of families to low-cost food and improve their food diversity.
Umm Rami was displaced along with her four children from the southern countryside of Aleppo towards Idlib governorate. She has no income source after her husband’s absence two years ago, forcing her to work in the farms adjacent to the town where she lives now. This prompted her to cultivate the small plot of land attached to her temporary home with her children after her application for the IhsanRD home garden support project was accepted.
“I’m very excited to start planting the garden behind my house, so my family will get the vegetables they need in their food instead of getting them at a high market price,” says Umm Rami.
This part of the project also includes 6 practical training during the duration of the project. Focusing on improved agricultural practices, best practices, and climate-smart agricultural techniques. Training will be complemented to include a section on sharing experiences from the past year to support a review and improvements in agricultural support programming among humanitarian and development actors. The training includes topics on plant care, harvesting techniques, and seed collection and production techniques so that farmers can sustain themselves after the end of the project.
The second part of the project is aimed at supporting farmers in agriculture and training in the area of Bensh, where the plowing service is provided to olive farmers. 500 farmers will benefit from this activity, equivalent to 1250 acres of plowed lands. In addition to providing support in the cultivation of wheat to farmers by providing them with agricultural inputs and the practical training of about 140 farmers.

Saleh, a breadwinner for his family of a wife and four children recalls his family suffering in securing food after having been displaced from their town in Hama countryside to the countryside of Idlib: “my youngest daughter wasn’t eating enough food, she did not want to eat the same meal every day of canned food which we got from the relief basket.” Saleh’s family like many displaced families who have no choice but the canned food from humanitarian organizations that respond to ongoing displacement waves in Syria.

In fact, Syria is one of the most food-insecure places. According to the United Nations, there are still more than 13 million people in need and more than 6 million displaced in Syria. But the situation was not always like this. Seven years ago, Syria was one of the most stable countries in the region, where agricultural products – the pride of a Syrian farmer – were highly demanded in terms of exporting, and Syrians were accustomed to the diversity of their meals due to the famous Syrian cuisine.

The situation now is different after years of war, bombing and targeting infrastructure in the areas that are not under the Syrian government’s control, where irrigation systems damaged and farmers displaced from their lands, and prices have jumped dramatically with rising of unemployment rate, citizens of Syria today do not have enough to buy the various needs that were considered as living basics in the past, and millions of Syrian families suffer from severe food shortages.

At the end of 2017, IhsanRD, in cooperation with WHH and funded by the German Foreign Office, has launched a project to support food security in the north of Syria. IhsanRD’s team who works in Idlib governorate, where a large number of displaced people is hosted, distributes food vouchers monthly to 3,700 families in the hosting communities. The food voucher allows the eligible families to exchange the voucher of $50 for the food they need in the stores that IhsanRD has contracted with.

Saleh and his family were very happy to receive food vouchers and his younger daughter, Samira, had improved and now she eats better.

The project of Food Vouchers was designed to do more than feeding the hungry. This project also aims to support the local economy by building partnerships with local suppliers.

One of the local stores’ owners, Mr. Abdulhai says: “Now I can pay off my debts and get the treatment for my wife who lost her leg. Sales movement and purchase has increased impressively in both the store and local market. Maybe I will soon diversify the goods in the store to meet the customers’ needs who received food vouchers from IhsanRD.”

By the end of food vouchers distribution next month, which has contributed to alleviate the suffering of displaced families who sought to secure food, in addition, to assist in supporting the local economy. Syria is still under war and far from stability, and most of the population suffers from poverty and unemployment, whereas displacement waves are still ongoing.

Syria has serious needs to establish sustainable programs to confront poverty and food insecurity that mix the short and long terms, combining emergency response with building resilience and helping families lift themselves out of poverty. This is what IhsanRD is doing through its projects that have been carried out in order to strengthen the communities’ capacities and enable them to possess the production tools in their hands.

In Syria, every season the farmer relies on his land for living. However, harsh conditions of war have led him to seek new ways to invest the land in an optimal manner, which recover the lack of food and the difficulty of living and in order to achieve the greatest yield for the crop. One of the scientific methods on which the farmer depends on to increase production is the method of inter-crops.

“Inter-crops” is a well-known agricultural practice in sustainable agriculture. The main advantage of this agriculture is the increased efficiency of the use of available natural resources and an overall increase in crop productivity, compared with the cultivation of one crop. For example, the cultivation of leguminous crops in the areas between fruit trees which are beneficial to the soil in terms of fertility replenishment. The inclusion of pulses in multiple crop systems, such as inter-crops or simple crop rotation, is important for the sustainable management of soil nutrients, and towards more sustainable agricultural practices. It is of paramount importance given the need to intensify food production while at the same time using best-used natural resources and building capacity to adapt to climate change.

In the northern countryside of Homs, which suffered from the harsh effects of war, and continues to suffer from the conditions of the siege and the difficulty of introducing raw materials for agriculture, IhsanRD has launched “inter-crops” project to support food security and livelihoods by providing support to 400 families within inter-crops project between trees for more than 1100 dunums by providing farmers with agricultural inputs (seeds, fertilizers, pesticides), as well as partial irrigation support. The project also aims to support the most vulnerable and reach the besieged areas of Syria to enhance the resilience of the population and improve safe access to food.

IhsanRD has organized field training seminars for farmers within the framework of the Inter-crops Project, with the aim of increasing practical experience in applying the best agricultural practices in the service of legumes and olive trees. The training covers practically all topics related to modern methods of agriculture, the use of machinery, planting dates, fertilization, disease control and modern irrigation techniques. Haj Abu Saleh, who was present at the symposium, spoke of the motivation for his presence: ” We may wait for the food basket aid, or we may plant what we really need by our hands. For me, I prefer eating from what I plant myself. When farmer the gives the best effort to his land and by the right agricultural practices, it will give him in return a better crop.”

This training seminars come after the project team successfully completed the previous stages, which included the first phase of registration of farmers in the project lists, and then conducting field inspection and standard testing of the quality of seeds and fertilizers before distributing them to farmers. Then spraying of fertilizers and sowing seeds that were previously distributed to farmers under the supervision of technical engineers and taking standard measurements according to modern methods of tillage and sowing.