Worst Drought In 36 Years Levels Syria's Wheat Crop, w. Yields Cut Nearly In Half; 90% Of Population Living In Poverty

[hatrack]

Gee, I wonder what will happen next.

EDIT

Mr Haddad's struggle is echoed across Syria, where the worst drought in 36 years has slashed wheat harvests by 40% and is pushing a country - where nearly 90% of the population already lives in poverty - to the brink of a wider food crisis. A report from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates Syria will face a wheat shortfall of 2.73m tonnes this year, the equivalent of annual dietary needs for 16.25 million people. Without more food aid or the ability to import wheat, Syria's hunger crisis is set to worsen dramatically, warned Piro Tomaso Perri, FAO's senior programme officer for Syria.

"Food insecurity could reach unprecedented levels by late 2025 into mid-2026," he said, noting that more than 14 million Syrians - six in 10 people - are already struggling to eat enough. Of those, 9.1 million face acute hunger, including 1.3 million in severe conditions, while 5.5 million risk sliding into crisis without urgent intervention. The same report showed rainfall has dropped by nearly 70%, crippling 75% of Syria's rain-fed farmland.

"This is the difference between families being able to stay in their communities or being forced to migrate," Mr Perri said. "For urban households, it means rising bread prices. For rural families, it means the collapse of their livelihoods." Farming families are already selling livestock to supplement lost incomes from wheat, reducing their number of daily meals, and there has been a rise in malnutrition rates among children and pregnant women. Yet, the implications of the drought stretch far beyond the thousands of kilometres of barren farmlands. Wheat is a staple crop in Syria. It is the main ingredient for bread and pasta - two food staples that should be low cost foods to families. So with the lack of wheat supply, the cost goes up.

EDIT

The high price of fuel and power cuts meant water pumps were out of reach, and many growers were already burdened with debt. Dr Aloush says a priority for his department and the transitional government in Damascus is putting money into irrigation projects - like solar powered drips - that will make water more accessible to farmers. But projects like that take time and money - luxuries wheat farmers do not currently have.

EDIT

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c70x500lkdno

[littlemissmartypants]

1. And folks feel justified in...

Bashing American farmers with who they perceive that the farmers vote for as justification.

When the hungry are forced to eat words they will find little comfort in it.