The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through it’s ‘Building Local Resilience in Syria - (BLRS)’ project in funded by UK Aid and a recipient of the Resilience and Adaptation Fund (RAF), has conducted rehabilitation of critical irrigation infrastructure in Aleppo Governorate, The Syrian Arab Republic. This is part of FAO’s broader strategy to restore agricultural productivity, secure rural livelihoods, and enhance climate resilience through the reduction of water losses in areas severely affected by more than fourteen years crisis and the deepening climate crisis.
The intervention focused on West Maskanah - Farm No. 9 irrigation scheme, to ensure access to irrigation water for about 3 970 smallholder farming households across 3 645 hectares of fertile farmland ahead of the upcoming cultivation season.
“The rehabilitation of irrigation farm No.9 in Aleppo is an investment in climate resilience and sustainability,” states Toni Ettel, FAO’s acting representative in the Syrian Arab Republic: “restoring irrigation water will encourage farmers to return to their lands after years of abandonment and will also contribute to the improvement of national food security, rural economic stability, and long-term climate adaptation,” he adds.
FAO has relied on its natural resources assessments, socio-economic assessments, and engaged with the local communities’ discussions using participatory approaches to achieve the intervention’s resilience objectives. Therefore, the construction activities included rehabilitating damaged surface irrigation canals and field distribution systems, restoring open and buried drainage canals to reduce waterlogging and soil salinity, and fully integrating Farm No. 9 into the recently rehabilitated irrigation network.
With precise planning and implementation to complement large irrigation networks thousands of farmers will be able to secure their livelihoods and timely plan cultivation for their strategic crops such as wheat, maize, vegetable and cotton. This is expected to increase the targeted communities’ capacity to adapt to environmental pressures and agro-climatic shocks.
About the Resilience and Adaptation Fund (RAF)
The Resilience and Adaptation Fund (RAF), part of the UK’s CLARE programme and funded by UK Aid, supports research, development and action to build resilience against climate change in severely affected countries, including Syria. RAF helps communities prepare for humanitarian crises, strengthen climate adaptation efforts, and promote socially inclusive, sustainable solutions.
The strategic partnership between FAO in the Syrian Arab Republic and the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (UK Aid), supported by the Resilience and Adaptation Fund (RAF), is helping vulnerable rural communities adopt climate-resilient practices that strengthen agricultural and food production against the impacts of climate change.
