Emergencies

Syrian Refugee Crisis

FAO has a leading role in the Food Security and Agriculture (FSA) Sector of the Regional Refugee Resilience Plan (3RP) which is a coordination platform composed of national and local government, humanitarian/resilience actors and donors, aiming to develop an effective response to the Syria Crisis in Turkey via harmonized approach to food security and nutrition and promote agricultural livelihoods.

In line with national priorities, the FSA sector seeks to scale up programming (moving beyond household-level interventions) to pursue opportunities for the provision of large and medium scale agriculture livelihoods support. Emphasis will be on promoting household food security and nutrition, as well as creating and expanding employment and business opportunities in the agricultural sector through strengthening FSA-related skills and knowledge.

The FSA sector regularly collected age and sex-disaggregated data of project beneficiaries, which helps to identify data gaps and enhance discussions on sustainable ways to address the refugees and hosting communities needs in the country effectively.

FAO Turkey conducted two assessments on:

• The Agricultural Livelihood and Labor Market for Syrian Refugees and Vulnerable Host Communities in Six Provinces in Turkey,
• An Analysis of Social Protection of Vulnerable Agricultural Populations Including Seasonal Workers and Syrian Refugees in Turkey.

The two studies are part of a broader set of assessments on agricultural livelihood opportunities for Syrian refugees and host communities in the countries bordering Syria. The study on agricultural labour market, led by Ankara University Development Studies and Implementation Centre (AKÇAM), provided a critical analysis of how Syrians and host community members take part in wage labour in local agricultural sector and their challenges and opportunities. The study on social protection, led by the Sociological Association, is designed an in-depth analysis of social protection programmes currently available for Syrians and vulnerable members in hosting communities who are engaged in agriculture, which provides us with critical guidance on how FAO can assure systematic support to enhance their livelihoods.

The 2023 Türkiye–Syria Earthquakes

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MoAF), has initiated a three-year Earthquake Response and Recovery Plan (ERRP), valued at USD 112 million. The Plan aims to address the needs of the agricultural sector with support to 700 000 rural individuals in the 11 provinces impacted by the earthquakes in February 2023.

The Plan builds on FAO’s contribution to the Türkiye Earthquakes Recovery and Reconstruction Assessment (TERRA) developed by the Strategy and Budget Office of the Presidency and a series of needs assessments conducted with the MoAF. The ERRP aims to sustain agricultural production and restore rural livelihoods in the provinces of Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Şanlıurfa.

The Plan’s three outcomes focus on restoring agrifood systems, revitalizing the agriculture labour market and empowering rural communities. The ERRP integrates various approaches, including women’s empowerment, disaster risk reduction, Build Back Better, private sector engagement, and climate-smart and nature-based solutions.

The ERRP short-term actions prioritize the provinces hit hardest by the earthquake: Adıyaman, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş and Malatya, while the medium-term plan encompasses all 11 provinces, focusing on immediate recovery needs specific to production patterns and seasonal timelines in each province. The longer-term strategy will promote sustainable rural development, women-led enterprises, climate-smart agriculture and community resilience. 

Following the earthquakes, FAO and MoAF have continued to collaborate closely in assessing requirements in the agriculture sector while advocating for additional support. To address the urgent needs of rural communities, FAO is currently providing urgently required agricultural inputs to over 1 300 farmers and unconditional cash transfers to 7 720 rural community members, in order to maintain dairy, crop, fisheries and food processing production.

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