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Bangkok Post
15 hours ago
- Business
- Bangkok Post
Syria's wheat war: drought fuels food crisis for 16 million
DAMASCUS - Rival Syrian and Kurdish producers are scrambling for shrinking wheat harvests as the worst drought in decades follows a devastating war, pushing more than 16 million people toward food insecurity. "The country has not seen such bad climate conditions in 60 years," said Haya Abu Assaf, assistant to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) representative in Syria. Syria's water levels have seen "a very significant drop compared to previous years, which is very worrying", Abu Assaf told Agence France-Presse (AFP), as a relatively short winter rainy season and decreased rainfall take their toll. "A gap of between 2.5 to 2.7 million tonnes in the wheat crop is expected, meaning that the wheat quantity will not be sufficient to meet local needs," Abu Assaf said, putting "around 16.3 million people at risk of food insecurity in Syria this year". Before the civil war erupted in 2011, Syria was self-sufficient in wheat, producing an average of 4.1 million tonnes annually. Nearly 14 years of conflict have since crippled production and devastated the economy. The FAO estimates that harsh weather has impacted nearly 2.5 million hectares of wheat-growing land. "Around 75% of the cultivated areas" have been affected, as well as "natural pastures for livestock production", said Abu Assaf. Imports, competition To bridge the wheat gap, imports would be essential in a country where around 90% of the population lives in poverty. Before his ouster in an Islamist-led offensive in December, Syria's longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad used to rely on ally Russia for wheat. In April, new authorities reported the first wheat shipment since his removal arrived in Latakia port, with more Russian shipments following. Iraq also donated more than 220,000 tonnes of wheat to Syria. During the war, Damascus competed with the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration in the northeast to buy wheat from farmers across fertile lands. Last year, Assad's government priced wheat at US$350 per tonne, and the Kurds at $310. After Assad's ouster, Damascus and the Kurds agreed in March to integrate Kurdish-led institutions into the new Syrian state, with negotiations ongoing on implementation. Damascus set wheat prices this month at between $290 and $320 per tonne, depending on the quality, plus a $130 bonus. The Kurdish-led administration offered $420 per tonne including a $70 bonus. 'Poverty and hunger' Damascus' agriculture ministry expects a harvest of 300,000 to 350,000 tonnes in government-controlled areas this year. Hassan Othman, director of the Syrian Grain Establishment, acknowledged Syria was not self-sufficient, in comments on state television. But he said authorities were working "to ensure food security by importing wheat from abroad and milling it in our mills". In northeast Syria's Amuda, farmer Jamshid Hassu, 65, inspected the tiny wheat grains from his fields, which cover around 200 hectares (around 500 acres). Despite heavy irrigation efforts to offset scarce rainfall, he said, production has halved. The FAO's Abu Assaf said indicators showed that "about 95% of rain-fed wheat has been damaged and affected", while irrigated wheat yields were down 30 to 40%. Hassu, who has been farming for four decades, said he had to pump water from depths of more than 160 metres (525 feet) to sustain his crops as groundwater levels plunge. Agriculture remains a vital income source in rural Syria, but without urgent support, farmers face ruin. "Without support, we will not be able to continue," Hassu warned. "People will suffer from poverty and hunger."
Agriland
06-05-2025
- Health
- Agriland
FAO calls for action amid foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks
Enhanced awareness and action is needed due to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks in Europe, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has said. The FAO warned that 'Europe is facing its worst outbreak of foot-and-mouth since the start of the century'. Germany confirmed its first FMD case in nearly 40 years on January 10, 2025, involving water buffalo in the state of Brandenburg. Last month, the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) certified Germany as free of foot-and-mouth disease. Hungary reported its first FMD outbreak in many decades on March 6, 2025, at a dairy farm in the north of the country, close to the Slovakian border. Slovakia has also confirmed FMD outbreaks, with the first case reported on March 20, 2025. FMD is a highly contagious viral disease affecting cloven-hoofed animals, including cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, and various wild species. It is typically characterised by fever and blisters in the mouth and on the feet accompanied by lameness. Although few adult animals succumb to disease, young animals may die from sudden heart failure. The virus spreads rapidly and can affect large numbers of animals, especially in countries or regions that are usually free of the disease or do not regularly use vaccination. Although FMD is endemic in the Near East, there has been a recent upsurge in outbreaks caused by an exotic serotype, which the FAO said was likely introduced from East Africa. So far, cases have been reported by Bahrain, Iraq and Kuwait, though other countries in the Near East and West Eurasia regions are at a high risk of being affected. 'FAO is recommending urgent biosecurity measures and enhanced surveillance following the recent detection of FMD serotype SAT1 in Iraq and Bahrain. 'This serotype is exotic to the Near East and West Eurasia regions, raising serious concerns about the potential spread of the virus,' FAO said. Virus While not a public health threat, FMD severely impacts animal health and welfare, food security and livelihoods by reducing livestock productivity, including through lower milk and meat yields. The UK government has banned the import of meat or dairy products from European countries where the virus has been detected, as well as Austria due to an outbreak in neighbouring Hungary. The FAO said the recent outbreaks of FMD in Europe and the introduction of an exotic virus strain into the Near East underscore the urgent need for early detection and enhanced biosecurity measures to minimise the impacts of the disease. FAO has urged all countries to maintain vigilance to the ongoing threat and issued the following advice for affected countries: Awareness campaigns: Advise farmers and communities of the increased threat of FMD and the measures they can take to protect their livestock; Biosecurity: This is the primary means of preventing and controlling FMD. This can be achieved by: separating sick animals from other livestock; avoiding the introduction of animals from unknown sources; avoiding mixing different livestock consignments during transport and at markets; thoroughly cleaning and emptying markets, vehicles, and transport hubs between sales, with rest days; preventing people, vehicles and other materials that are potentially contaminated with the virus from moving farm-to-farm; Vaccination: In combination with rigorous surveillance and biosecurity measures, vaccination can be a highly effective tool for controlling FMD. However, it is crucial that vaccines are well-matched to the field strains, and they should be administered according to the manufacturer's specifications; Contingency planning: Verify that an FMD contingency plan exists, with standard operating procedures (SOPs) for surveillance, outbreak investigation and vaccination. The FAO said that by implementing these measures, countries can significantly reduce the risk of FMD outbreaks and protect their livestock industries. The UN agency added that it is providing crucial emergency response support, including technical assistance and resource mobilization for affected countries. FAO and the European Commission for the Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (EuFMD) also offer country-specific support including training programmes and vaccine procurement and distribution.
South China Morning Post
30-01-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
High-steaks challenge: how China feeds its huge, meat-hungry population
Published: 10:00am, 30 Jan 2025 Lunar New Year, arguably China's biggest annual holiday, can be seen as a barometer for the country's economy. As more than a billion people travel, shop, eat and give gifts to family and friends, their preferences and habits paint a picture of the nation's consumption over a few festive weeks. This is the seventh story in a nine-part series . For decades, China has had to confront the challenge of feeding nearly one-fifth of the world's population with less than one-tenth of its arable land. But that task has become even more daunting in recent years, as Chinese consumers increasingly adopt meat-heavy, Western-style diets that require far more resources to sustain. The average Chinese national now consumes even more protein than an American on a daily basis, data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO) shows, and China's appetite for meat continues to grow. Chinese consumers had an average daily protein intake of 124.61 grams (4.4 ounces) in 2021, whereas the figure for people in the United States was 124.33 grams (4.39 ounces), according to the latest available UNFAO data. People in China now have a far more protein-rich diet than peers in India, where the average resident consumed 70.52 grams (2.49 ounces) per day in 2021. They also consume significantly more than their neighbours in Japan and South Korea. The transformation in Chinese people's diets has primarily been driven by rising meat consumption, the UNFAO report found. It is a trend that is being felt across the global economy.
