Farmers in Syria’s South Grapple with Economic Losses

On a cold January afternoon, only a handful of farmers were cultivating the land in Deir Makir: most of the farmland in this village in southern Syria is barren because farmers are grappling with minimal rainfalls levels and an array of economic challenges. Local farmers expressed relief about the fall of the Assad regime, and the end of an era marked by blackmailing, corruption practices, and shortages of agricultural inputs, but remained cautious about the economic prospects ahead, and called on the caretaker government to adopt protectionist measures in the agriculture sector.