PLAN OF ACTION FOR SYRIA "Towards Resilient Livelihoods for Sustainable Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition"

The report mainly studies the impact of the conflict in Syria on the agriculture and the food security situation. Agriculture and the rural sector have been particularly affected by the conflict. Prior to the crisis, the agriculture sector was a major pillar of the productive economy, accounting for some 18 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and providing employment and livelihood opportunities to roughly half of the population in Syria. The effects of the conflict on agriculture and the rural livelihoods of people in Syria are multiform. They include the disruption in the supply of agriculture inputs (notably seeds and fertilizer); sharp decrease in crop production; significant reduction in livestock numbers; and damage and sometimes-irreversible destruction of physical assets, such as irrigation structures, farm machinery and storage and processing facilities. Violence, widespread insecurity and the destruction of infrastructure (roads, electricity networks) are restricting access of farmers to their fields, and have brought the previously flourishing trade of agricultural products inside the country and within the region to a standstill.