Five grams of seeds for a family in Syria

Since the outbreak of war in Syria in 2011, people's suffering has shown no end. Of the 21 million people who once lived in Syria, around 12 million are currently refugees, both worldwide and within the country. Since the beginning of 2020, armed conflicts have worsened the situation of people in northwest Syria, where 2 million Syrians have sought refuge from other parts of the country (WFP, 2020a). More than half of the population in Syria needs humanitarian aid. Around 6.5 million Syrians do not have enough to eat (WFP, 2020b). The main reasons for this are the deliberate destruction of agricultural land, farms, seed banks and water tanks. This makes it impossible to grow food and uses hunger as a weapon. In addition, the severely damaged infrastructure and road blockades prevent food from reaching everyone in the country. All of this is leading to enormous increases in food prices. In addition, many families have had to leave their homes and land behind as a result of their flight. They now have little opportunity to grow their own food. In order to protect people threatened by hunger, however, it is essential to enable independent food production. (FAO, 2020; WoS, 2017).

In 2010, the so-called "Arab Spring" began in many Arab countries. Demonstrators in Arab countries campaigned for human dignity, freedom, the rule of law and economic development. Syria also experienced the Arab Spring, but it was suppressed by the government under Bashar al-Assad. Conflicts arose between the government and the population. These were accompanied by the incursion of armed groups, religious and ethnic conflicts and the disputes over the Kurdish areas in northern Syria. Regional and global powers also got involved, such as Iran, Russia, the USA, Turkey, but also armed non-state groups such as Hezbollah. When the Syrian government increasingly lost control of the country in 2013, it was supported by Iran and Hezbollah. Russia also allied itself with the Syrian government, while Turkey and other powers clearly positioned themselves against the government and in some cases supported the opposition. Years of war followed.
Today, large parts of the country are again under the full control of the Syrian government. Military conflicts are currently mainly limited to the Idlib region in the northwest. The peace process in Syria remains highly complex and is not easy to implement under Assad's government. As long as the country is unstable, there is a risk of renewed strength from Islamist groups such as Islamic State (IS) or al-Qaeda. Meanwhile, peace talks are continuing at the international level: Discussions are taking place about how and under what conditions the international community can support the reconstruction of Syria.