The wheat fields outside Seqalbia, near the Syrian city of Hama, should be golden and heavy with grain. Instead, Maher Haddad's 40 dunums (10 acres) are dry and empty, barely yielding a third of their usual harvest.
This year was disastrous due to drought, said the 46-year-old farmer, reflecting on the land that cost him more to sow than it gave back. His fields delivered only 190kg (418 lbs) of wheat per dunum - far below the 400-500kg he relies on in a normal year.
With two teenage daughters to feed, he is now borrowing money from relatives to survive. Mr Haddad's struggle is echoed across Syria, where the worst drought in 36 years has slashed wheat harvests by 40% and is pushing a country - where nearly 90% of the population already lives in poverty - to the brink of a wider food crisis.
A United Nations report estimates Syria will face a wheat shortfall of 2.73 million tonnes this year, sufficient to meet the annual dietary needs for 16.25 million people.
Without adequate food aid or the ability to import wheat, food insecurity could reach unprecedented levels by late 2025 into mid-2026, warns Piro Tomaso Perri of the FAO. Over 14 million Syrians, or six in ten, are struggling to eat enough, with 9.1 million facing acute hunger.
In rural areas, families are selling livestock to cope with lost income from wheat production, while urban households deal with escalating bread prices due to the wheat collapse. The price of bread has soared, making it difficult for families like that of Sanaa Mahamid, who is struggling to provide for her six children amid rapidly rising living costs.
Amidst these challenges, aid officials are scrambling to provide subsidies to mitigate the immediate impacts, but these measures are seen as temporary solutions. Long-term stability hinges on ensuring farmers can remain on their land and sustain agricultural output.
Despite the harrowing conditions, initiatives to improve irrigation and support farmers with direct payments are underway, yet the timeline to recovery remains uncertain as the drought shows no signs of letting up.
With millions of Syrians dependent on the next season's rain, the collective struggle for survival continues amid a looming humanitarian catastrophe.
