The village of Sarit in southern Turkey lies just 100 kilometres from Aleppo – one of the hot spots of the Syrian conflict – and has received an influx of Syrian refugees seeking safety. Being so close to Syria, most of the residents speak Arabic as well as Turkish, and have welcomed the new families.
But there has been an outflow too of Sarit's young people who leave for the cities in search of further education and work.
Many of the remaining residents are small landowners growing olives and raising livestock who need trained agricultural and other workers to continue their livelihoods.
For the past year, FAO has worked with government and private sector partners to develop training programs for the refugees and Turkish citizens in the skill areas that are most needed by the farmers. Hundreds of Syrian refugees and host community members trained by FAO have attended job fairs, been introduced to private sector companies and found jobs through the networks they developed.