“I am glad I attended the sessions at FAO farmers’ field school. I thought I knew about herding, but I discovered that there is still a lot to learn and apply for better sheep production,” Fouad Ahmad, a forty-year-old livestock keeper in Deir Ez-Zor.

Deir Ez-Zor governorate, located in eastern Syria, is well-known for the quality of produced sheep due to the environmental conditions and the quality of natural grazing areas, alongside the Euphrates River and nearby Al Badia. With approximately 1,900,000 heads of sheep in the governorate, even experienced herders face challenging circumstances: the drought-like weather conditions and water scarcity leaving lands with no pasture for sheep to graze; difficulties to access the Al Badia region, due to the security situation; the constantly rising prices; and limited access to veterinary services.  Knowledge and new skills are very much needed.

For many, sheep are the main source of food and income, the production of milk and of quality meat. The main challenge is to improve livestock production practices, and provide nutritious feed for sheep. Only in this way can livestock keepers make a sustainable livelihood. 

FAO - through the UN Joint Programme funded by the EU and Norway – has begun to address this challenge, through farmers' field schools/farmers' business schools (FFS/FBS). In the first instance, ten schools have offered 200 beneficiaries in Deir Ez-Zor the opportunity to learn by doing, and to exchange ideas with facilitators and other herders, which will encourage them to apply new practices with their own animals. The schools have focused on fodder production, flock management, business skills and record keeping, sheep health and disease diagnoses, and sheep housing. Innovations within the schools are already being circulated and adopted by more neighboring livestock keepers who are becoming interested in attending further FFS/FBS sessions.

“One of the most beneficial lessons I learned at FFS/FBS was sprout cultivation; and the early weaning of sheep to increase birth rates. I noticed great results in my sheep’s health, the tips have also helped me to produce better dairy for our livelihood and own consumption. With the right sheep feeding we can improve the animal’s health and double the number of animals as well,” said Fouad Ahmad.

The improvement of the overall health of sheep in the governorate is evidence that herders are following specialized advice on herding good practices. Some of the herders need tools/equipment to improve the conditions of their sheep according to FAO’s guidance. Through the Joint Programme, WFP will ensure synergies and complementarities by providing one hundred of the neediest herders with mobile barns to improve the sheep housing conditions.

The complementary work between FAO and WFP to support the people in need in Syria is fundamental for the UN Joint Programme. This programme aims to strengthen the resilience of communities by translating the idea of a multi-sectoral, integrated, and area-based approach into action towards greater impact and efficiency.

The Joint Programme builds on the comparative advantage of the six participating UN agencies–FAO, UNDP, UNFPA, UN Habitat, UNICEF, and WFP–under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinator to provide integrated responses to multifaceted resilience challenges in the country.