Alexander Ananian

Grigori Ananian

Bruin MUN

10/28/22

Topic A: Addressing the Role of Climate Instability in Agricultural Development

Country: Syria
Committee: International Fund for Agricultural Development

1. Background
Today, 78 percent of the world’s impoverished people live in rural areas: that is 800

million people that heavily rely on agriculture to sustain their lives. Agriculture is a major

component of many economies around the world and provides food for citizens across the globe,

but climate change gets in the way of that. Without the implication of climate resilience and

climate-smart agriculture, many of these suffering and impoverished nations will eventually

crumble. For example, in Africa many developing countries suffer major droughts, dry harvests

which create semi-arid regions that are not fully capable of growing sufficient food. Ten percent

of greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, which needs to be addressed as an important

contributing factor to the rise in climate temperatures. It is critical that the international

community addresses the struggle of many small-holder farmers in these developing countries,

and their need for aid in the agricultural development of better techniques to reduce the impact of

climate change on these developing countries.

2. UN Involvement

In the past, the UN has been involved in this issue of Climate Instability. One of their

main solutions has been the Paris Climate Agreement established in 2016. Its goal is to get the
climate below 2 degrees Celsius. 183 countries of the world have signed this agreement and are

obliged to follow it individually. Also, the UN created the GEF(Global Environmental Facility)

in 1991, which helps create developments in local agriculture and at the same time tries to reduce

global emissions through those practices. IFAD launched the Adaptation for Smallholder

Agriculture Programme (ASAP) in 2012 to give smallholder farmers more environmental and

financial work in their countries. The Agricultural Innovation Mission for Climate was launched

in 2021 by the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates, which helps to increase agricultural

productivity, reduce climate change and improve livelihoods.

3. Country Policy and Proposed Solutions

Syria, with the help of the UN, has taken up many different new agricultural technologies

to address climate change, and at the same time drive Syria to a more sustainable and stable

state. But there is a crisis going on in Syria now due to climate change, which is a new drought.

Through mismanagement of water resources and agricultural practices ,,Syria has put its own

country in a bad state for the agricultural season, but some new inventions and practices might be

able to dig them out of their hole. One innovation is called digital agriculture, which is broadly

defined as the use of computing, remote sensing, and mobile technology to facilitate efficient

farming and livestock keeping. In Syria, the FAO is seeking young and new IT graduates and

experts to adopt this new technology and put it to good use in the agricultural sector. According

to the UNDP, “A water supply system that is resilient to climate change will also be established

with improved wastewater treatment. Untreated wastewater is currently polluting water

resources, irrigation channels, and soil.” An additional solution would be the increased

implementation of chemical fertilizers, which have been proven to be a more productive fertilizer

that also reduces the aridity of the land. Chemical fertilizers have been shown to have a negative
effect on climate change and the environment emitting nitrogen that seeps into groundwater and

into the air. However when applied correctly, which is as close to the plant as possible, these

effects are very heavily negated. Chemical fertilizers are very important for developing countries

to have a substantial amount of crops for population distribution and for developing agriculture

into a powerhouse. This project calls upon funding of about 70-90 million dollars which can be

provided by NGOs and governments. The unified will of the world can conquer this problem.

Works Cited
1. Al-Khalidi, Suleiman. “Syrian Drought Puts Assad’s ‘Year of Wheat’ in
Peril.” Reuters, 21 June 2021,
www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syrian-drought-puts-assads-year-whe
at-peril-2021-06-21.

2. Syrian Farmers Are Building Back Better | Program Update | Syria |.

www.usaid.gov/syria/progra-updates/aug-2020-syrian-farmers-are-buildin
g-back-better. Accessed 13 Oct. 2022.

3. Bivins, Alyssa. “On Blaming Climate Change for the Syrian Civil War.”
MERIP, 29 Sept. 2020,
merip.org/2020/09/on-blaming-climate-change-for-the-syrian-civil-war.

4. King, Ed. “Syria Climate Study Warned Assad of Drought Dangers in

2010.” Climate Home News, 20 Sept. 2015,

www.climatechangenews.com/2015/09/18/syria-climate-study-warned-ass

ad-of-drought-dangers-in-2010.

5. Wikipedia contributors. “Agriculture in Syria.” Wikipedia, 4 Sept. 2022,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_Syria
6. Programmes and Projects | FAO in Syria | Food and Agriculture

Organization of the United Nations.

www.fao.org/syria/programmes-and-projects/en. Accessed 27 Oct. 2022.

7. “FAO Introduces Digital Agriculture to Youth in Syria - Syrian Arab

Republic.” ReliefWeb, 20 Dec. 2021,

reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/fao-introduces-digital-agriculture

-youth-syria.

8. “Syria.” IFAD, www.ifad.org/en/web/operations/w/country/syria.

Accessed 27 Oct. 2022.

9. “UN Habitat UNDP FAO to Launch Adaptation Fund Project to Address

Climate Change - Syrian Arab Republic.” ReliefWeb, 27 Oct. 2021,

reliefweb.int:443/report/syrian-arab-republic/un-habitat-undp-fao-launch-a

daptation-fund-project-address-climate.

10. FAO Promotes Innovation in Syria With a Specialized Digital Agriculture

Training | FAO in Syria | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United

Nations. www.fao.org/syria/news/detail-events/en/c/1505772. Accessed 27

Oct. 2022.
11. Werrell, Francesco Femia Caitlin. “Syria: Climate Change, Drought and

Social Unrest.” The Center for Climate & Security, 7 Dec. 2015,

climateandsecurity.org/2012/02/syria-climate-change-drought-and-social-u

nrest.