Devotion to family, homeland and farming

An almost 10-year-long crisis in Syria has affected much of the country’s population. Many have been killed or  displaced, fleeing to avoid the fighting. Others, like 66-year-old Fiya Hassan and her family, lost their homes and livelihoods. Fiya’s house was burned down during armed clashes, but she couldn’t bear to leave her homeland: the memories of happier times, with her children growing up in her backyard were just too strong. Instead, she and her family rebuilt the destroyed parts of their house and decided to stay, hoping for a better future.

Fiya is the head of her household and a grandmother of eight, living in the Ibtaa sub-district in southwest Syria. She had always relied on farming to generate a proper income, as well as provide food for her family. But since the conflict started in 2011, obtaining the necessary agricultural inputs has become increasingly tough due to the ongoing violence, the economic crisis and the fluctuating currency rate. These problems have prevented thousands of farmers like Fiya from being able to sustain their livelihoods.

A solution in small-scale farming

According to the Humanitarian Needs Overview 2019, more than 9.3 million people in Syria are food insecure. FAO is supporting rural families living in Syria who, due to the conflict, have found it impossible to access the needed seeds, tools and fertilisers to continue farming and feeding their families.  This difficulty— in addition to other problems like unexploded ordnance in some fields, high transport costs and limited marketing opportunities— means that farmers have not been able to provide for themselves, and many rely on food distribution to meet their daily needs. Responding to this, FAO, with the financial contribution of Kuwait, has provided 3 000 rural families in the Daraa and As-Suwaida governorates with seasonal vegetable seedlings, fertilisers and tools to begin farming again.

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