Planting through the rubble

The journey to Khalaf Al Ali's farm in Al-Sowaidan village, Deir Ez-Zor governorate, offers a stark reminder of the immense destruction left by 14 years of conflict. 

Collapsed homes, shattered agricultural infrastructure and abandoned buildings stretch across the horizon. Entire communities fled. Many families never returned. 

Khalaf never left. 

"When the conflict began and people started fleeing, I made up my mind: I would not leave my land alive." 

^{Destroyed civilian infrastructure remains a defining feature of the landscape across Deir Ez-Zor governorate after 14 years of conflict. ©FAO/ Mohamed Abdel-Hameed.}

Now in his seventies, he still farms the same land his father and grandfather cultivated before him. 

"We have lived from this land for generations," he says. "Agriculture is all we know." 

The conflict may have eased, but producing food remains an immense challenge. Climatic shocks, lack of extension services and prohibitive input costs are leaving many families without the means to produce the food they depend on. 

"If we stop farming," Khalaf says, "we have nothing." 

This summer, with SHF’s support, FAO provided 4 500 farming households (27 000 people) across northeast Syria with vegetable production packages comprising bean, cucumber, tomato, melon and mallow seeds, together with organic fertilizer. The time-critical assistance is helping vulnerable families produce fresh vegetables, protect their livelihoods and reduce their reliance on humanitarian assistance. 

Khalaf planted the seeds as soon as they arrived. 

Walking through neat rows of young crops, he pauses to inspect the first green shoots emerging from the soil. 

"The seeds are excellent," he says. "You can see the difference." 

The harvest will first feed his family. Any surplus will be sold to help cover household expenses and finance the next planting season. 

^{Khalaf Al Ali smiles as he inspects the first vegetables grown from the FAO seed package. Supported by SHF, the assistance is helping him look ahead to a harvest that will feed his family and help sustain their livelihood. ©FAO/Mazen Haffar.}

A few kilometres away, in the same village, Zahra Al-Muhalal is hoping for the same outcome. 

The conflict forced Zahra to flee her home several times. Each time, she was determined to return and farm again. When she received the seeds, she planted them immediately. 

"We keep what our family needs," she says. "If anything is left, we sell it." 

^{Zahra tends to her vegetable crops. Supported by SHF, FAO provided her with a vegetable production package, helping her grow fresh food for her family and strengthen her household's food security. ©FAO/Mazen Haffar.}

For Khalaf and Zahra, the support is helping them hold on through another difficult season. But across a region devastated by years of crisis, needs remain immense. Without sustained support, more families risk abandoning the land they depend on, while reliance on humanitarian aid will only deepen. 

"Our community is still struggling," Khalaf says. "We all need the means to keep farming." 

As the afternoon sun begins to set over his fields, young vegetable plants stand out against a landscape still marked by conflict. 

For Khalaf, they are more than another harvest. 

They are proof that the land he refused to abandon can still provide for the family that never gave up on it.