page_title: Economy of Syria
section_title: Agriculture
hierarchical_section_title: Economy of Syria / Sectors of the economy / Agriculture
caption_attribution_description: English: Olive groves — in Hims (Homs) Governorate, western Syria. Photographed in the morning. Deutsch: Olivenbäume in West-Syrien, im Gouvernement Homs. Fotografiert am Morgen.
context_page_description: Syria's economic history has been turbulent, and has deteriorated considerably since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War. The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party came to power in 1963, and adopted socialist policies involving nationalizations and land reform. After General Hafez al-Assad took power in 1970, restrictions on private enterprise were relaxed, though a substantial part of the economy was still under government control. By the 1980s, Syria was politically and economically isolated, and in the midst of a deep economic crisis. Real per capita GDP fell 22% between 1982 and 1989. In 1990, the Assad government instituted a series of economic reforms, although the economy remained highly regulated. The Syrian economy experienced strong growth throughout the 1990s, and into the 2000s. Syria's per capita GDP was US$4,058 in 2010. There is no authoritative GDP data available after 2012, due to Syria's civil war.
  Before the civil war the two main pillars of the Syrian economy were agriculture and oil, which together accounted for about one-half of GDP. Agriculture, for instance, accounted for about 26% of GDP and employed 25% of the total labor force.
context_section_description: Agriculture is a high priority in Syria's economic development plans, as the government seeks to achieve food self-sufficiency, increase export earnings, and halt rural out-migration. Thanks to sustained capital investment, infrastructure development, subsidies of inputs, and price supports, Syria has gone from a net importer of many agricultural products to an exporter of cotton, fruits, vegetables, and other foodstuffs. One of the prime reasons for this turnaround has been the government's investment in huge irrigation systems in northern and northeastern Syria. The agriculture sector, as of 2009, employs about 17% of the labor force and generates about 21% of the gross domestic product, of which livestock accounted for 16% and fruit and grains for more than 40%.
  In 2015, Syria's main exports included spice seeds ($83.2 million), apples and pears ($53.2 million).
  Most land is privately owned, a crucial factor behind the sector's success. Of Syria's 196,000 km² (72,000 square miles), about 28% of it is cultivated, and 21% of that total is irrigated. Most irrigated land is designated "strategic", meaning that it encounters significant state intervention in terms of pricing, subsidies, and marketing controls. "Strategic" products such as wheat, barley, and sugar beets, must be sold to state marketing boards at fixed prices, often above world prices in order to support farmers, but at a significant cost to the state budget. The most widely grown arable crop is wheat, but the most important cash crop is cotton; cotton was the largest single export before the development of the oil sector. Nevertheless, the total area planted with cotton has declined because of an increasing problem of water shortage coupled with old and inefficient irrigation techniques. The output of grains like wheat is often underutilized because of poor storage facilities.
  Water and energy are among the most pervasive issues facing the agriculture sector. Another difficulty suffered by the agricultural sector is the government's decision to liberalize prices of fertilizers, which have increased between 100% and 400%. Drought was an alarming problem in 2008; however, the drought situation slightly improved in 2009. Wheat and barley production about doubled in 2009 compared to 2008. In spite of that, the livelihoods of up to 1 million agricultural workers have been threatened. In response, the UN launched an emergency appeal for $20.2 million. Wheat has been one of the crops most affected, and for the first time in 2 decades Syria has moved from being a net exporter of wheat to a net importer. During the civil war which began in 2011, the Syrian government was forced to put out a tender for 100,000 metric tonnes of wheat, one of the few trade products not subject to economic sanctions.
  Less than 2.7% of Syria's land area is forested, and only a portion of that is commercially useful. Limited forestry activity is centered in the higher elevations of the mountains just inland from the coast, where rainfall is more abundant.
caption: Olive groves in Western-Syria, Homs Governorate.
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