Drought-hit Syrian farmers could get help as sanctions lifted
ALEPPO -Severe drought in Syria this year could lead to the failure of an estimated 75% of local wheat crops, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation, threatening the food security of millions of people.
To help combat the situation, the government is taking measures, including limiting the cultivation of crops that need too much water, the agriculture ministry told Reuters on Tuesday.
It also said the lifting of sanctions, announced last week, could help by allowing fertilisers and irrigation technology to be imported.
Toni Ettel, the FAO's representative in Syria, told Reuters the agency anticipated a "food shortage of 2.7 million tons of wheat for this year, which is sufficient to feed 16.3 million people over one year".
Under former President Bashar al-Assad, Damascus depended on wheat imports from Russia to support a bread subsidy programme during past droughts.
Wheat farmers Asaad Ezzeldin, 45, is among those whose crops have failed as drought added to the strain on an agricultural sector sapped by fighting and bombardment during 13 years of civil war.
"Agriculture in Aleppo's northern countryside has been hit because of the lack of irrigation. There is no rainfall," he said.
Moscow, a staunch ally of Assad, suspended wheat supplies to Syria soon after Islamist rebels toppled him, citing uncertainties about the country's new authorities.
In a surprise announcement last week, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would order the lifting of all sanctions on Syria.
The resulting flow of funds could revive the agriculture sector by providing technologies for irrigation and for infrastructure renewal, Ettel said.
The agriculture ministry also said opening up the economy would also allow investments and solutions to counter the effects of droughts.
"Lifting sanctions does not solve the drought crisis in itself, but it provides the means and capabilities that enable the government and farmers to respond efficiently to it, via modernising irrigation systems, improving productivity, and strengthening food security," the ministry told Reuters.
Unable to buy wheat and fuel, Syria's new government had lobbied for a lifting of the sanctions that for years isolated the Syrian economy and made it dependent on Russia and Iran.
EU foreign ministers on Tuesday also agreed to lift economic sanctions on Syria, in a policy shift after Trump's announcement. The Syrian authorities said the decision would open avenues for engagement.
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