Funded by USAID, and in partnership with the North East Syria (NES) Food Security and Livelihoods Agriculture Working Group, iMMAP published a report on Climate Change and its influence on Wheat Production: A Review Study on Northeast Syria.
The 24-page report explores the overarching impact of climate change on northeast Syria’s wheat crop productivity. The study covered multiple areas relevant to wheat production, including access to irrigation water, soil fertility management, integrated pest and disease management, annual wheat yields, and pre-harvest crop fires under the changing climate in NES.
The report highlighted a number of findings, most notably:
● Study findings highlighted that the average temperature has been rising in NES. The region is now approximately 0.8°C hotter today than it was 100 years ago with a decreased mean rainfall of about 18 mm per month, per century. ● The wheat grain yields in the Al-Hassakeh, Deir-ez-Zor, and Ar-Raqqa governorates hit a five-year low. ● 16% of farmers could not access any source of irrigation such as water wells and rivers. ● Yield losses caused by hot temperatures reached up to 30% during the 2020/21 winter cropping season.
Furthermore, iMMAP and the NES Food Security and Livelihoods Agriculture Working Group also made room for recommendations to help alleviate the substantial impact felt by stakeholders and households.
Source: iMMAP