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Ankara – More than 5 million Syrians have sought refuge in neighboring countries as a result of the Syrian crisis. Despite the support provided by host governments and humanitarian actors, refugees in the region are becoming increasingly vulnerable. Turkey hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees globally. Over 3.6 million Syrians have fled across the border into Turkey, placing a significant burden on the host communities; however, Syrian refugees have very limited access to livelihood and employment opportunities. Most of them make a living by offering their services as irregular workers and are paid low wages. This poses risks to both host and refugee communities and can lead to instability and social tension.

With financial support of the Government of Japan, FAO has been providing skills training in agri-food production, processing and entrepreneurship for Syrians refugees and their host communities since 2018. As of 2020, 48 percent of the project participants obtained new income sources. Some women project participants established cooperatives to produce and sell local agri-food products such as red peppers, mussels and olive soaps. These products present specific characteristics linked to their geographical areas, giving them special reputations in their production. All cooperative established with support of the project continued to produce after the completion of the projects using the skills, experiences and networks they gained.

The latest projects focus supporting women’s entrepreneurship in Bursa, Izmir and Sanliurfa provinces. FAO provided trainings on key entrepreneurship skills such as cooperative management, non-violence communication, decision making, marketing, business finance and e-commerce. As of January 2021, 70 project participants completed the trainings, including 55 women. Some of them have started to sell their products in local markets and earned incomes. The Project Review Meeting held today reviewed the progress and achievements of the project, with participation of representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Embassy of Japan in Turkey, FAO, provincial government, NGOs and research institutes.
“Turkey has faced a major refugee problem in the wake of the Syrian crisis. This project is a good example of global solidarity against the refugee crisis” said Ulviye Burcu Serin FAO Working Group Coordinator from the DG for European Union and Foreign Relations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, in her opening remark. Ayşegül Selışık, Assistant FAO Representative in Turkey, pointed out in her speech that the project is a good example that great works can be achieved with a small budget, and pointed out that the success achieved in this project inspired other projects.
“We are proud of the success of the cooperatives established with support of the project and women are in the center of the success stories” said Mr. Yuta Nagamura, Second Secretary, Embassy of Japan. “Many challenges still remain among refugees and their host communities and the COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbates their livelihood insecurity. FAO will continue to explore opportunities to scale up our activities” said Keigo Obara, Food Security Officer, FAO Sub-regional Office for Central Asia. 

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