Syria: Drought driving farmers to the cities
Thousands of Syrian farming families have been forced to move to cities in search of alternative work after two years of drought and failed crops followed a number of unproductive years.
Syria's
drought is now in its second year, affecting farming regions in the
north and east of the country, especially the northeastern governorate
of Hassakeh. Wheat production is just 55 percent of its usual output
and barley is seriously affected, according to the UN's drought
response plan, drawn up following two recent multi-agency missions.
Blamed on a combination of climate change, man-made desertification and
lack of irrigation, up to 60 percent of Syria's land and 1.3 million
people are affected, according to the UN. Just over 800,000 people have
lost their entire livelihood, according to the UN and IFRC.
No-one knows exactly how many people have migrated across the country
because of the drought. The Syrian Ministry for Agriculture and
Agrarian Reform's estimate in July was 40,000 to 60,000 families, with
35,000 from Hassakeh alone. But with people moving all the time, the
figure is likely to be an underestimate.
The UN's drought response plan found there had been a "dramatic
increase in the already substantial migration out of the affected
areas". Migrants head for the cities of Damascus, Aleppo and Homs,
according to the report.
Contact information | n/a |
---|---|
News type | Inbrief |
File link |
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=85963 |
Source of information | Irin News - © IRIN 2009. |
Keyword(s) | drought |
Subject(s) | RISKS AND CLIMATOLOGY |
Relation | http://www.semide.net/countries/fol749974/sy |
Geographical coverage | Syria |
News date | 02/09/2009 |
Working language(s) | ENGLISH |