14 March 2012, Rome - FAO today issued a special alert on the food security situation in Syria, voicing serious concern over the state of food security, especially for vulnerable groups, because of continued civil unrest since March 2011.

According to the Syrian Central Bureau of Statistics, inflation increased between June and December 2011 by about 15 percent, mainly driven by sharp increases in food prices and fuel shortages that are impacting on transportation costs.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that about 1.4 million people have become food insecure since the unrest began in conflict hotspots such as Homs, Hama, Damascus, Daraa and Idleb. Tens of thousands of people have fled to neighbouring countries, reports the special alert, posted on FAO’s Global Information and Early Warning System on food and agriculture (GIEWS) website. The GIEWS system  monitors the global food situation and gives advance warning  of impending food crises.

FAO and WFP are currently running an emergency operation providing food aid and vouchers to 100 000 people in the country.

Limited access to food

Food, water and fuel are reportedly increasingly difficult to obtain in several areas and the situation is also affecting pastoralists, with reduced mobility for their herds and limited access to veterinary drugs and other supplies.

Some 300 000 small farmers and herders in north-eastern provinces, which have already suffered four consecutive seasons of drought, are also affected by loss of opportunities from seasonal labour migration inside the country. Syria’s cereal production is estimated to have dropped by almost 10 percent last year following late and erratic rains, and the outlook for the 2012 winter harvest starting in May is uncertain given possible disruption of farm activities and limited access to inputs as a result of civil insecurity.