Programme Overview
Building Local Resilience in Syria (BLRS)
Syria has faced over a decade of conflict, resulting in widespread destruction, economic hardship, and a sharp decline in living standards. The BLRS programme is responding to these challenges by tackling food insecurity and gender-based violence through a range of resilience-building interventions.
The BLRS programme: a path to resilience
In response to Syria’s ongoing crises, the BLRS programme provides sustainable solutions to food insecurity by addressing its root causes across Syria.
Funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) and implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Syria Resilience Initiative (SRI), and supported by the International Security and Development Center (ISDC), the BLRS programme strengthens food and nutrition security by fostering local agricultural food systems, expanding market access and building community resilience.
BLRS in a nutshell
- When? Start: 1 April 2022 | End: 31 March 2028
- Where? The programme is operating across most regions of Syria, including Aleppo, Al-Hasakeh, Deir ez-Zor, Hama, Homs, Idlib, Latakia and Rural Damascus.
- Who? Approximately 150,000 Syrians currently benefit every year with focus on women, young people, and those with disabilities.
- What? crop production; livestock production & health; capacity building; Irrigation, water & energy; SME & value chains; women empowerment (more details)
- How? See below!
How BLRS is driving meaningful change
Below is an overarching theory of change for BLRS, illustrating how the various food security and livelihood interventions can lead to improved outcomes and impacts. To find out more about these interventions, take a look at BLRS in numbers.
BLRS in numbers
During the most recent project year (April 2024 to March 2025), the BLRS programme supported over 70,000 Syrians (unique beneficiaries) through six key intervention groups: crop farming, livestock production and health, capacity building, irrigation, water and energy, SME and value chains, and women empowerment. Below are a couple of examples of these interventions:
The interactive map below provides detailed information about the specific types of activities and interventions implemented by the partners, as well as the number of beneficiaries reached so far. Use the drop-down menu on the left to explore the different categories.
What are we learning?
BLRS is a live programme that is being studied and evaluated on an on-going basis. Below you will find material that outlines the insights we have gleaned so far. This section will be updated as more reports and briefs become available.
a BLRS thematic brief
Prevention of Violence against Women and Girls
an FAO pilot project
The BLRS programme: expected results
Despite being initially designed to reach about 65,000 Syrians every year, the BLRS programme has managed to surpass expectations in its implementation phase, reaching:
- Approximately 23,000 households or around 115,000 Syrians (based on an average of 5 people per Syrian household) per year, which is almost double the BLRS initial target, within the initial budget.
- The BLRS programme is now on track to reach 30,000 households each year, which will have a positive impact on around 150,000 Syrians annually.
The programme is also incorporating key insights from the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) pilot interventions to improve and expand its strategies for preventing violence.
Impact stories
Discover real-life stories from our SRI and FAO partners, who are implementing BLRS on the ground:
ISDC supports learning and evaluation
ISDC is studying how and to what extent the BLRS programme improves the resilience of Syria’s local agri-food systems. Through the use of rigorous quantitative approaches, including experimental and quasi-experimental study design, ISDC assesses the impact of various BLRS activities on crop & livestock production, livelihoods and economic well-being, food security & resilience, as well as on women empowerment.
At a glance: what have we learned so far?
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The numbers below are based on the ISDC’s impact findings of FAO and SRI FSL activities from Phase 1.
Livestock Farmer Field Schools (FFS)
improve animal productivity across central Syria, and strengthen food security by 7%.
Agricultural input provision & training
improve crop yields and increase household income from farming by 17%.
Combining input provision & irrigation rehabilitation
increase the use of renewable resources in Northeast Syria, and enhance farmer resilience by 21%.
This project is funded by UK aid from the UK government.
