Compensation Approved
Syria's Ministry of Agriculture approved on 3 November 2026 the payment of about 211 million Syrian pounds (SYP) in compensation to 8,289 farmers whose crops were damaged by natural disasters earlier in the year. The decision was taken by the board of the Fund for Mitigating the Impact of Natural Disasters on Agricultural Production at a meeting chaired by the agriculture minister.
The payout covers losses across seven governorates and roughly 195,000 dunams of farmland. It is the larger of two compensation rounds the fund has issued in 2026.
Causes of the Losses
The damage was caused by hail, spring frost and a rise in the water level of the Euphrates River, which flooded adjacent farmland. The losses occurred in March, April and May 2026, a window that cut across both the winter cereal harvest and spring planting.
Affected crops included legumes, vegetables, wheat, barley, stone-fruit trees and tobacco, spanning both annual field crops and standing orchards.
Governorates Covered
The seven governorates receiving compensation under the new decision are Daraa, Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, Homs, Hama, Aleppo and Tartus. The spread reaches southern, central, northern and coastal farming areas, indicating that the season's weather damage was not confined to a single region.
This Year's Running Total
An earlier decision in August 2026 had already compensated 1,741 farmers in Idlib, Aleppo, Quneitra and Tartus with about 112 million pounds. The new round is close to double that amount and covers nearly five times as many farmers.
Taken together, the two decisions bring the year's disaster compensation to 10,030 farmers in eight governorates and roughly 323 million pounds.
Further Measures
The board also recommended building a dam and a spillway in the al-Sayha area of Aleppo governorate to reduce future flood damage along the affected stretch. It called for training programs for the staff who assess agricultural losses, with the stated aim of speeding up and standardizing how future claims are handled.