FAO and UK Government announce multi-year food and agriculture partnership to support 114 000 farming households across Syria

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) supported by the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) have announced the launch of a three-year phase two of the Building Local Resilience in Syria (BLRS) project ending in March 2028. UK funding aims to support approximately 114 000 farming households (approximately 684 000 people) across seven governorates, with a particular focus on women-headed households, persons with disabilities (PwDs), and displaced and returnee families.

The BLRS launch took place in Damascus, in attendance of the Minister of Agriculture, Amjad Badr, FCDO representatives, key ministries, representation of embassies and donors, UN, INGOs and NGOs to review and discuss lessons learned, impact and case studies of BLRS experiences during the first phase (2022 to early 2025), as well as present the project’s second phase objectives, interventions towards recovery and resilience of farmers, and the expected outcomes to achieve a better food security situation for the people in Syria.

Derek Markwell, FCDO Syria’s Deputy Development Director said that: “For many years now, the UK has been proud to support the work of FAO - a world leader in food security, sustainable agriculture production and climate action. We are even prouder to support their work in Syria - alongside the Syrian Government - to help bolster the country’s food and agricultural sector, and in doing so help support Syria’s recovery and stability. Our joint efforts have helped over 500 000 people to date through agricultural support (seeds, fertiliser, fodder production, etc.), improving water access, rehabilitation of irrigation and drainage for farmers, small medium enterprise (SME) and income-generating opportunities, including empowering women economically and socially. This is the UK’s flagship Food and Agriculture programme in Syria, and we are incredibly proud of the impact it is having on the ground. By working together with local institutions and communities, we are helping lay the foundations for a more sustainable and food-secure future in Syria,”.

Toni Ettel, FAO Acting Representative in the Syrian Arab Republic, emphasized in his speech: “Through the collaboration between FAO and the UK Government, we have impacted the lives of about 81 730 vulnerable rural households. The cornerstone of this progress lies in empowering rural communities to transition from food aid dependency to becoming proactive, resilient agricultural producers capable of overcoming challenges that may occur on agriculture, generating income for a better livelihood and food security status,”.

This significant partnership seeks to enhance food and nutrition security, and to strengthen the self-reliance and resilience of farmers affected by fourteen years of crisis and the escalating impacts of climate change. The second phase of BLRS will roll out a wide range of complementary and climate-smart interventions to support the early recovery of Syria’s agriculture sector, including:

• Enhancing crop and livestock production through FAO’s farmer field schools, this participatory approach will improve the farmers’ agricultural knowledge and skills by adapting efficient, effective and climate-smart agricultural practices.
• Restoring Syria’s seed system: FAO, in close collaboration with the General Organization for Seed Multiplication (GOSM), the General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research (GCSAR), the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM Bari) and other experienced partners, is aiming to restore the production of seed for key crops such as wheat, barley, chickpea, and lentil. Capacity development efforts will target both national institutions and local farmers to strengthen the local seed production systems.
• Rehabilitating irrigation and drainage networks: FAO will conduct technical and natural resource assessments to identify priority infrastructure for rehabilitation. This component will also support the establishment and capacity-building of Water Users Associations (WUAs) to improve sustainable water resource management.
• Improving animal health and breeding: As part of FAO’s national animal health campaigns, around 86 500 livestock keepers will benefit from preventive and curative animal health services, including artificial insemination to promote healthy and resilient livestock breeds.
• Fostering community dialogue through Dimitra Clubs and Discussion Groups: these platforms, which fall under the prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) pillar of the BLRS, will engage communities in dialogue on key social issues, such as the prevention of gender-based violence (GBV), early marriage, and the promotion of equality, social and economic empowerment for women and girls.
• Nabta entrepreneurship programme: to empower women and youth by providing entrepreneurial training and start-up grants, to strengthen their leadership roles in local agri-food systems.
• Supporting women through agro-processing and cash/voucher groups through providing support that allows women access equipment and inputs needed for agro-processing to produce value-added food products and increase their income.
• Promoting climate adaptation and early warning systems to help farmers adapt to climate change. FAO, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, will share early warning information related to agro-climatic conditions and market related shocks.