Syria - "Building the resilience of crisis-affected vulnerable farmers and herders"

Objective: To restore the livelihoods and improve the food security of crisis-affected households through enhancing their agricultural production capacities.

Activities implemented:

• Distributed 1 920 000 vegetable seedlings to 3 000 farming households; and trained 300 beneficiary farmers on nutrition-sensitive agriculture and good agricultural practices.

• Established and equipped a marketing unit (approximately 63 m²) in Damascus for marketing and selling the products of small-scale vegetable producers and processors from across the country.

• Conducted a study entitled “Vision for empowering Syrian rural women” to identify good practices, gaps and policy recommendations for empowering Syrian rural women.

• Rehabilitated and equipped Al Meriyeah fodder nursery in Deir-Ez-Zor and Wady Alazeb fodder nursery in Hama, providing employment opportunities for 350 workers.

• Trained 15 MAAR personnel and raised the awareness of 40 herders on good practices for the sustainable management of natural resources and animal health in rangelands.

• Assessed agricultural production capacities at the national and local levels, collecting primary agricultural production and socioeconomic data from 4 453 farming households.

• Reviewed seed production policies at the national level to identify gaps, challenges, opportunities, best practices and recommendations for maintaining local seed varieties of strategic crops (with a focus on wheat).

• Distributed 1 100 tonnes of high quality wheat seeds to 5 500 farming households; and trained 550 beneficiary farmers on climate-smart agriculture and good agricultural practices.

• Supported the rehabilitation of Tal-Hasel pumping station in Aleppo through supplying electrical and mechanical equipment and providing various construction services.

• Contributed to the training of 800 farmers on community-based irrigation management; and the establishment of nine water users’ associations (WUAs), benefiting 135 farmers.

Results:

• Enabled 3 000 farming households to produce 7 920 tonnes of vegetables; and enhanced the knowledge of 300 farmers on nutrition-sensitive agriculture and good agricultural practices.

• Enabled small-scale vegetable producers and processors to increase their sales and incomes, thanks to the establishment of the marketing unit in Damascus.

• Enhanced the evidence base for future projects/programmes targeting rural women, thanks to the findings and recommendations of the study entitled “Vision for empowering Syrian rural women”.

• Enabled the two rehabilitated fodder nurseries (Al Meriyeah nursery in Deir-Ez-Zor and Wady Alazeb nursery in Hama) to produce 2 million seedlings, increasing the incomes of 350 nursery workers and improving the livelihoods of 10 000 herders by enhancing their access to fodder seedlings.

• Enhanced the knowledge and skills of 15 MAAR personnel and 40 herders on the sustainable management of natural resources and animal health in rangelands.

• Enhanced the evidence base for improving and increasing agricultural production in the Syrian Arab Republic, thanks to the project’s efforts in assessing agricultural production capacities, and in reviewing seed production policies.

• Enabled 5 500 households to produce 13 750 tonnes of wheat; and enhanced the knowledge of 550 beneficiary farmers on climate-smart agriculture and good agricultural practices.

• Enabled 3 249 households to irrigate approximately 5 370 ha, thanks to the rehabilitation of Tal Hasel pumping station in Aleppo.

• Enhanced the knowledge of 800 farmers on community-based irrigation management and enabled 135 farmers to benefit from regular and fair access to irrigation water, thanks to the establishment of nine WUAs.

• Restored the livelihoods of the project’s beneficiaries; improved their food security and revived the local economies in the targeted governorates.