The humanitarian situation in Syria is of grave concern, with domestic, regional and growing international consequences. As the conflict enters its fourth year, insecurity, generalized violence and specific persecution continue to force the people of Syria to seek safety and protection elsewhere, both inside the country and in the neighbouring countries of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. In December 2013, the United Nations (UN) estimated that more than 12 million Syrians were in need of humanitarian assistance, including 6.5 million who are internally displaced (which includes at least 235 000 Palestinian refugees); 2.2 million who are registered as refugees in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey; hundreds of thousands who may not have registered or became refugees “sur place”; and Lebanese, Palestinian and other refugees displaced from Syria. Nearly two-thirds of the refugees and returnees are located outside of refugee camps (including 100 percent in Egypt and Lebanon) being hosted by communities, which themselves often have limited means and are increasingly under threat of food insecurity and poverty. It is further estimated that 60 percent of these are located in small rural towns and villages where agriculture is the primary source of livelihood. The conflict and its spillover effects are affecting economic, social and human development, most dramatically inside Syria, but also in the neighbouring countries and communities affected, most notably in Lebanon and Jordan where refugees account for 18 and 10 percent of the overall population, respectively.In February and March 2013, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) undertook a rapid agricultural livelihoods and food security impact assessment and prepared an initial response plan for the Syria crisis in the neighbouring countries of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey1 . In November 2013, the FAO Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa fielded “agricultural programming” missions to the “subregion” with the objectives of: (i) providing a Syria crisis and resilience perspective to FAO’s 2012 “Country Programming Frameworks (CPFs)”; (ii) updating and expanding the March 2013 Agricultural Livelihoods and Food Security Impact Assessment and Response Plan; and (iii) developing FAO’s “Subregional Strategy and Action Plan for Resilient Livelihoods for Agriculture and Food and Nutrition Security in Areas Affected by the Syria Crisis”.