Following a decade of conflict, many potential food processors in Syria find themselves without needed connections to quality vegetables at affordable prices, processing facilities, markets for their goods, and to each other. This influences not only their potential for income, but also the food security of their families. These critical links are exactly what their local Siraj Centers – supported by USAID’s Advancing Agricultural Markets in Syria (AAMS) program -- provide. Siraj Centers are community livelihoods hubs, established in conflicted-affected areas of Syria under the AAMS program, implemented by the Near East Foundation to provide technical and financial support to food processors and their businesses.

Prior to the Syrian conflict, thousands of households in the Raqqa governorate relied on income from olive farming. Over the course of the conflict, farm conditions and capacity were severely degraded, due to farm damage and the use of olive wood for fuel. Limited access to reliable water and essential harvesting equipment led to meager harvests, leaving farm owners unable to earn sufficient incomes to provide for their families.