Attachments
NARRATIVE
The food assistance response for the third quarter of 2018 remained high, reaching almost 97 percent of target figures having raised 96 percent of the funding requirements requested through the 3RP budget. Since January 2018, the Food Security and Agriculture Sector partners have assisted 166,541 people from the Syrian refugees and host communities with food and agricultural assistance.
Of these, the majority (166,505 Syrian refugees) have been assisted through various food assistance modalities (such as vouchers, e-cards, and in kind); of these, 144,953 live in Temporary Accommodation Centers (TACs) with 19,460 people living in the host community. In addition, 2,033 Syrian refugees and host population have received agriculture support, mainly in the south-east provinces where the concentration of both Syrian refugees and agriculture market needs are highest. Such assistance has emphasized supporting hosting communities to enhance social cohesion in these areas.
Agriculture is an important driver of economic growth in Turkey, both in terms of value added creation and employment generation. Agricultural interventions have included production-related activities such as the distribution of seeds and fertilizer. FSA sector partners have also focused on skills development in the agriculture sector in order to meet the high demand for agriculture labour. Agricultural interventions were primarily in-kind, although partners also have used cash and vouchers to facilitate access to inputs or productive assets. Funding constraints within the agricultural sector have persisted, with agriculture interventions /projects receiving only 4 percent of the total planned budget. This in turn has only allowed FSA partners to reach 4.8 percent of targeted numbers resulting in underperformance of key indicators with negative implications for long-term investments to foster the agricultural sector resilience and the resilience of Syrian refugees and host communities. The current 3RP funding gaps for agriculture remain a serious concern for the FSA Sector.