Three million Syrians need food, crops and livestock assistance, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation said Thursday August 2, citing a survey by the United Nations and the Syrian government, AFP reported.
The FAO said that figure included 1.5 million Syrians who "need urgent and immediate food assistance over the next three to six months, especially in areas that have seen the greatest conflict and population displacement."
The survey, conducted in June by the FAO, WFP and the Syrian agriculture ministry, found that the farming sector has lost a total of $1.8 billion (1.5 billion euros) this year due to the conflict.
The losses included damages to crops such as wheat, barley, cherries, olive trees and vegetables, as well as to livestock and irrigation systems.
Farmers have been forced to either abandon farming or leave crops unattended due to the lack of labour, the scarcity of fuel and the rise in fuel costs, and insecurity, as well as power cuts, the report found.
Wheat harvests have been delayed in Daar'a, Homs and Hama as well as in the region around Damascus.
The report also said that deforestation was on the rise as farmers used the forests for fire wood due to the lack of cooking gas and fuel.
The WFP began sending food aid to Syria in October 2011 and has gradually scaled up its operations, reaching 540,000 people in July. It said it aims to reach 850,000 people this month.
The WFP said it faced a funding shortfall of around $62 million on an overall budget of $103 million.
The FAO began its assistance operations in December 2011 to more than 9,000 small herders and farmers' households.
The FAP said it needs $38 million for the next six months to help a total of 112,500 rural households.
