Eastern Syria grapples with drought, poverty
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis, DAMASCUS
Wed Jan 27, 2010 1:54pm EST DAMASCUS (Reuters) – Syrian officials addressing a rare public forum have revealed the full impact of a drought that ravaged the 2008 wheat crop and displaced hundreds of thousands of people in the east of the country. The officials recommended diversifying the eastern Syrian economy and finding alternatives to subsidized cash crops, whose cultivation has severely depleted water resources, mainly in the eastern region along the River Euphrates. The officials, speaking at a forum that is a rare reminder of the “Damascus Spring” democracy movement snuffed out in 2001, recognized they faced a huge challenge, tackling high levels of poverty, unemployment and illiteracy, and low investment. Rainfall in eastern Syria fell to 30 percent of the annual average in 2008 — the worst drought for 40 years — and al-Khabour, a main tributary of the River Euphrates, dried up, they told the meeting on Tuesday. The region’s wheat crop fell by about half to 1.3 million tonnes that year, and the number of people displaced is estimated at between 300,000 and one million, though there are no official figures. “We must plan an overhaul that includes an integrated economy, health and education, not just agricultural production,” said Hassan Katana, head of statistics and planning at the agriculture ministry. Poverty levels stand at 80 percent and the region’s investment budget is only $17.4 million, according to Khader al-Muhaisen of the government-backed Peasants Union. Infrastructure in the east, which accounts for the bulk of Syria’s grain and cotton output, has fallen into disrepair. …
Eastern Syria grapples with drought, poverty
(Reuters) – Syrian officials have held an unusually frank discussion about a drought in the eastern region that ravaged the wheat crop and caused massive displacement of the population. The following are key facts that emerged from the forum, organized by the Syrian Economics Society.
- Eastern Syria, which borders Iraq and Turkey, comprises the provinces of Hasakah, Raqqah and Deir al-Zor.
- Population growth is 3 percent a year and the majority of the population are under 15 years old.
- The region contains 40 percent of Syria’s farmland and accounts for 56-58 percent of its wheat production.
- The region’s wheat output fell to 1.3 million tonnes in 2008, when the worst drought in four decades hit, compared with 2.4-2.9 million tonnes a year between 2003 and 2007.
- Around 59,000 families each owning 100 head of cattle or less lost half their animals.
- Poverty levels hover around 80 percent.
- The region has a water shortage of 2.5 billion cubic meters a year out of the 3.5 billion cubic meter shortage for the whole of Syria.
- Officials did not estimate the number of people displaced by the drought. Independent estimates give a range of 300,000 to one million.
- The East received 30 percent of its average rainfall in 2008. No figures were available for 2009, but the officials said rainfall has improved.
- The government has started charging market prices for fuel and fertilizers, but still buys wheat and cotton at higher than market prices.
