The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) on Monday, 8 July briefed diplomats in Amman on the findings of a recently conducted Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission to Syria. The presentations highlighted the effects of the conflict on crop and livestock production and Syrians’ access to food.

The meeting was attended by representatives from United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) and the Japanese, German, Australian and Brazilian embassies.

The Mission estimated that the current wheat production is around 2.4 million tonnes, or 40 percent less than the annual average harvest of more than 4 million tonnes before the crisis and 15 percent lower than the reduced harvest of 2011/2012. Pre- and post-harvest losses are expected to be higher than average this year as a result of reduced availability of harvesting equipment and storage facilities. The Mission anticipates a wheat import requirement of 1.5 million and a shortfall of 477,000 tonnes for 2013/14.

“Unless tackled with urgency, these issues have the potential to make the crisis in Syria much worse” pointed out Francesco Del Re, FAO Syria Senior Technical Advisor, who also mentioned that the support to the 2013 wheat planting season will be a turning point for food security in Syria given the two consecutive years of below average wheat harvests.