Improving communities resilience and ensuring sustainable food production through the comprehensive provision of agriculture-based livelihoods support to crop farmers in Maskana, Aleppo (Priority 2). In 2022, Syria entered its twelfth year of protracted complex humanitarian crisis, with communities continuing to face violence, displacement, socioeconomic deprivation, as well as more recent pandemic-induced health hazards. Due to vulnerabilities caused by displacement, exposure to hostilities, limited access to basic goods and services, currently 14.6 million people in the country require multi forms of humanitarian assistance where 90% of the population lives below poverty line (HNO, 2022).

Food security situation in Syria has steadily worsened over the past years, currently, 54% of the Syrian population is food insecure (HNO, 2022). The latest escalation in food insecurity is indicative of a population increasingly vulnerable, with many having exhausted their capacity to cope due to a range of factors, including subsequent reduction of government subsidies, degradation of livelihoods, water crisis, drought outlook and erosion of purchasing power. 

SIF proposed response, in line with sector priorities, will contribute to promote agriculture-based livelihoods over the short-to-medium term in locations with high severity of needs, high prevalence of food insecurity. Interventions will support vulnerable targeted smallholders crop farmers and communities in Aleppo Governorate to better cope with financial distress, price fluctuation and hunger through the improvement of livelihoods, production assets and the rehabilitation of irrigation system.

SIF is planning to implement 2 activities based on an agriculture resilience approach in Maskana, Aleppo, as follow:
Rehabilitation of the irrigation sub-canal (60 cm–40 cm diameters) in Al Jala Farm. This intervention will target 341 returnee farmers (owners), 19,793 farmers (employed) and ensure water feedings to the surroundings 1,200 hectares of agriculture lands. The activity will complement ZOA's current intervention in approval phase (100 cm – 80 cm diameters).
Distribution of agriculture kits, tailored to the needs of 341 farmers which will contain seeds for staple crops (mainly wheat), tools, fertilizers, pesticide necessary to cultivate yields and manage their land. The distribution will complete multipurpose cash assistance which will be delivered to families in Jala Farm by ZOA.

The project will target directly a total of 20,134 People in Need (PIN) - 10% women, including farmers (owners), employed farmers and daily worker hired for the rehabilitation work and indirectly 182,487 PiN - 59% women/girls. 

All intervention will include environmental and climate change considerations in selection of material for rehabilitation and consideration for organic agriculture production. To ensure maximized protective impact of projects, the response will also mainstream protection to mitigate protection risks, concerns of the target communities, ensure SIF accountability to Affected Population (AAP) through the implementation of SIF Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse mechanism, effective, accessible feedback and complaint mechanism and consultations with PiN and relevant local authorities.
Throughout the intervention, SIF will closely follow the Food Security and  Agriculture Sector minimum standard guidelines and donor requirements regarding the selection of agriculture inputs. In particular, selection of farmers will be based on SIF pre-set and objective criteria which align with the Sector specifications (cf. attached SOP). SIF is fully committed to SPHERE standards and humanitarian principles based on which SIF internal policies and procedures were developed to guide project implementation. 
Activities will be implemented in close coordination with the FSA Sector, the relevant authorities at local and national levels (i.e. General Organization for Land and Properties, Agriculture Chamber, line ministries, Head of Municipalities, Mokhtar, SARC), as well as ZOA since the proposed project is based on a complementary intervention from both organisations