‘Syria’s Food Basket’ Struck by Dire Wheat Shortages

Wheat harvest in Syria’s Qamishli region in mid-July (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Wheat harvest in Syria’s Qamishli region in mid-July (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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‘Syria’s Food Basket’ Struck by Dire Wheat Shortages

Wheat harvest in Syria’s Qamishli region in mid-July (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Wheat harvest in Syria’s Qamishli region in mid-July (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, also known as Rojava, has acknowledged a wheat grain shortage that could affect next year’s production.

Wheat received from Rojava areas amounted to about 388,000 tons for flour, while the quantities of raw seeds amounted to about 75,000 tons, the head of the region’s Agriculture and Irrigation Authority, Muhammad Al-Dakhil, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“These numbers are alarming,” warned Al-Dakhil, adding that they portend ramifications for food security in an area that was once considered “Syria’s food basket.”

This year’s wheat harvest hardly meets the needs of Rojava residents.

“We need 600,000 tons annually of wheat material prepared for flour, and thus there is a deficit of approximately 200 thousand tons of wheat,” revealed Al-Dakhil.

According to Al-Dakhil, the Authority will distribute seeds produced in this year’s season after sifting as farmers require around 75,000 tons of seeds for the next agricultural season.

Rojava areas, which include seven major cities and towns in four of Syria’s northeastern governorates, consume about 600,000 tons of wheat annually to produce subsidized bread, in addition to 200,000 tons for sowing.

For the second year in a row, Rojava regions and the rest of Syria have been ailed by a wave of severe drought.

Al-Dakhil pointed out that climatic changes and droughts have “resulted in the death of plants, and a decrease in the quantities of irrigable water stored in dams, which caused a loss of arable areas in the summer season.”

Last year, the Authority was forced to purchase more than 100,000 tons of wheat to produce flour for bread.

This prompted the Economy and Planning Authority and the Mills Directorate to mix yellow corn at a rate of 20% with wheat flour.

Today, Syria’s wheat production amounts to a third of what it used to be in 2019, which was estimated at 2.2 million tons. Syria’s wheat production before 2010 was estimated at 4.1 million tons annually.



Tunisians Protest Against President as Jailed Politicians Begin Hunger Strike

Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)
Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)
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Tunisians Protest Against President as Jailed Politicians Begin Hunger Strike

Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)
Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)

Hundreds of Tunisians staged two protest rallies on Wednesday against what they say is the authoritarian rule of President Kais Saied and demanded the release of political prisoners, while six detained opposition figures held a hunger strike.

Saied seized extra powers in 2021 when he shut down the elected parliament and moved to rule by decree before assuming authority over the judiciary. The opposition described his move as a coup, Reuters reported.

Supporters of the opposition Free Constitutional Party gathered in the capital Tunis to demand the release of their detained leader Abir Moussi. They chanted slogans such as "Saied, dictator, your turn has come," and "Free Abir".

"What is happening is true tyranny, no freedom for the opposition, no freedom for the media. Any word can send you to prison," one protester, Hayat Ayari, told Reuters.

Hundreds of supporters of another opposition party, the Salvation Front, staged a separate rally, also in Tunis, to demand the release of detained politicians, activists and journalists.

Six prominent opposition figures detained on conspiracy charges have begun a hunger strike in prison to protest against their impending trial, their lawyers said on Wednesday.

Abdelhamid Jelassi, Jawhar Ben Mbarek, Khiyam Turki, Ridha Belhaj, Issam Chebbi and Ghazi Chaouachi - all detained in 2023 during a crackdown on the opposition - have refused to participate in what they say is an "unfair trial".

Saied said in 2023 that the detainees were "traitors and terrorists" and that the judges who acquitted them were their accomplices.

The detainees have denied any wrongdoing and have said they were preparing an initiative aimed at uniting Tunisia's fragmented opposition.

Most leaders of political parties are now in prison including two of Saied's most prominent opponents, Moussi and Rached Ghannouchi, the head of the Ennahda party.

The government says there is democracy in Tunisia and Saied says he will not be a dictator, but that what he calls a corrupt elite must be held accountable.