The absence of seasonal rains has triggered a severe drought across tens of thousands of agricultural lands in northeastern Syria, harming wheat crops that the war-torn country was growing.
This raised the alarm on a potential depletion of strategic harvests and a harsh year passing by for both the region and the country, which was struck by an economic crisis that crippled its capacity for self-sufficiency.
Economic depression was set off by currency fluctuations that saw the US dollar trading for SYP 3,100.
The dry spell has put over 265,000 hectares of 390,000 arable farmlands out of production this year.
Moreover, the damage impacted around 400,000 hectares of barley season, but approximately 145,000 hectares of irrigated wheat and barley remain viable for harvest in 2021.
In light of these figures, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES) and the Syrian government are competing for year’s production by blocking attempts to determine wheat and barley prices until the harvest season ends.
For the time being, wheat and barley rates cannot be set until damages are precisely assessed.
Data predicts around one million hectares of land could be used for farming in Syria’s northeastern governorate of Hasakah.
Salman Baroda, who heads the Economic and Agricultural Authority for the NES, reaffirmed that arrangements were made for receiving wheat and barley materials from farmers.
“We issued the circular in order to preserve the production of the season because NES areas are in dire need of it, and through this circular, it is forbidden to transfer the barley and wheat materials even between the areas of the same departments,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Baroda explained that the circular was issued “with the aim of preserving seeds for coming years, and to fairly distribute flour to public and private bakeries, without the occurrence of crises like the one the region witnessed recently.”
