FAO/Mazen Haffar

“The protection of our livestock secures our livelihoods,” – said Mohammed Hamzeh, a small-livestock keeper of five heads of cows in rural Damascus, who benefited from FAO’s vaccination campaign, and fodder support for his livestock.

The overall situation for rural communities remains hard. Small-scale farmers have been facing the challenges of a 12-year-long crisis, with limited access to production inputs and services to sustain their way of life and source of livelihood.  For livestock keepers, the main problem has been a lack of fodder, compounded by an absence of health services as most of the previous veterinary centres are now unable to function.

In this context, FAO, with the support of OCHA, has developed an emergency response to reach more than 24 000 small scale livestock keepers in eight governorates (Aleppo, Ar-Raqqa, Daraa, Deir Ez-Zor, Hama, Homs, Idleb and Rural Damascus) through the provision of veterinary medical support, disease prevention measures and vaccination services, fodder distribution, and raising awareness campaigns.

Through a coordinated vaccination campaign, FAO provided 3 million doses to animals against Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR), 300 000 doses against lumpy skin disease, and also 30 000 doses against calves’ diarrhea. This has been integrated with treatment for endo- and ecto- parasites for more than 3 million heads.

Also, around 2 000 tonnes of fodder has been distributed to 4 000 families (500 kg for each), helping them to boost the profits from their livestock production at a particularly difficult time, on the back of two successive years of drought-like conditions.  When asked about their future plans, farmers who received fodder and health services said that their aim was to “increase the number of animals they are keeping to make profits, to change towards better production and to improve their living conditions.” 

The intervention was combined with awareness-raising sessions for farmers and training for vets to encourage the take-up of modern husbandry practices and health services.

Othman Khaled from Al Qastal village in Rural Damascus said: “Through the training I have received, as well as the fodder, I should be able to improve the quality and quantity of my cattle. At least I don’t have to worry about losing the calves thanks to the vaccines they were given.”

Livestock keepers’ challenges post after the Syria earthquake

The recent tragic earthquake that hit Syria and Turkiye on 6^th February, has added another layer of pressure on livestock keeping in Syria.  In the affected governorates several thousand animals were lost under collapsed sheds; farmers also reported reduced production rates of milk and eggs as animals were affected by the trauma of the shocks.

FAO’s priority in Syria is to ensure that rural communities affected by the earthquake can quickly recover basic food production and resume their agricultural livelihoods. In this light, FAO will be supplying farming inputs (animal feed, seed, seedlings, fertilizer, fuel, tools, and equipment), veterinary care (livestock treatment and vaccination), providing training and making unconditional cash transfers. The Organization is currently assisting 17 880 rural families (approximately 107 000 people) through the provision of fodder to livestock keepers in Aleppo; with fertilizers to farmers in Lattakia; and through support for the rehabilitation of canal irrigation in Hama.