Building community resilience and people’s livelihoods is crucial to end the vicious cycle of poverty and vulnerability in Syria. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) - jointly with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) – completed the rehabilitation of Sector 5 irrigation system in Deir-ez-Zor, northeast Syria. Learn what that meant for the communities in terms of resilience and food security.
Agriculture has been the main source of income for most of the population in the Deir-ez-Zor Governorate, Syria’s second largest Governorate. With an annual rainfall less than 150 mm/year, the Euphrates River has historically provided the main source of water supply for the land, the livestock, and the people. During the crisis, the irrigation systems from the Euphrates were severely damaged. This had devastating impact on agriculture and food-security in the Sector 5 area. This report outlines the joint project and how it contributed to increased wheat and crops production, self-sufficiency, women empowerment, livelihoods and more.