3 million Syrians could face severe hunger amid drought, wheat crisis
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Syria faces its worst food crisis in decades as drought slashes wheat output, exposing al-Sharaa’s failures and pushing millions toward hunger.
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A farmer works his land next to damaged building, in Eastern Ghouta, outskirts of Damascus, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025 (AP)
Syria is grappling with its worst food crisis in decades after a devastating drought destroyed nearly half of the country’s wheat harvest, deepening hunger for millions while exposing the failures of al-Sharaa’s fragile administration, Reuters reported.
The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that about three million Syrians could face severe hunger, while more than half of the population of 25.6 million is already food insecure. A June report by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated a wheat shortfall of 2.73 million metric tons this year, enough to feed 16 million people for a year.
The shortage poses a major challenge for President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who took office after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad in December. Wheat underpins Syria’s subsidised bread programme, considered a lifeline for ordinary families. Yet, the new administration has been slow to secure large-scale grain imports, leaving the country vulnerable to worsening shortages.
According to Reuters, interviews with officials, traders, and aid workers suggest procurement efforts have fallen far short of what is needed. A government official, speaking anonymously, told Reuters that only 373,500 tons of wheat had been purchased from local farmers this season, roughly half of last year’s volume. Imports of 2.55 million tons will be required; however, so far, Damascus has announced no major deals, relying instead on small private shipments amounting to just 200,000 tons.
“Half of the population is threatened to suffer from the drought, especially when it comes to the availability of bread, which is the most important food during the crisis,” said Toni Ettel, the FAO’s representative in Syria. Emergency assistance has been limited to 220,000 tons of wheat from Iraq and 500 tons of flour from Ukraine.
Farmers in a freefall
The FAO expects Syria’s wheat production to fall to 1.2 million tons this year, 40% below 2024 levels and far short of the four million tons needed to meet annual consumption.
“This has been the worst year ever since I started farming,” said Nazih Altarsha, who cultivates six hectares in Homs. In the al-Hasaka province, traditionally the country’s breadbasket, farmer Abbas Othman said his fields yielded nothing. “We planted 100 donums (six hectares) and we harvested nothing,” he told Reuters.
Only 40% of farmland was sown this season, much of it later ruined by drought in regions such as al-Hasaka, Aleppo, and Homs. To encourage farmers, the government offered $450 per ton for wheat, about $200 above market prices, but output was still minimal.
“In a good year I can sell the government around 25 tons from my six hectares but this year I only managed to sell eight tons,” said Altarsha. “The rest I had to just feed to my livestock as it wasn’t suitable for human consumption.”
Before the war on Syria, the country produced up to four million tons of wheat annually and exported about one million. Now, it is reliant on imports to cover the gap.
A long road ahead
The crisis comes amid a major policy change in Washington. In May, US President Donald Trump said he would lift sanctions on Syria in a bid to ease its economic recovery. The US Department of Agriculture projects Syria will need to import a record 2.15 million tons of wheat in 2025/26, a 53% rise from last year.
Still, Damascus has yet to lay out a new purchasing strategy. Traders say that even with sanctions lifted, payment delays and financial constraints are holding up imports.
For now, Syrians face the prospect of shrinking bread rations and higher food prices. The WFP has already cut its operations in the country due to funding shortfalls, leaving vulnerable communities at even greater risk.
With the planting season due to start again in December, farmers like Altarsha are hoping for rain – and for international support to prevent the crisis from deepening. “We can only wait,” he said, “and pray next year will be better.”
