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At 54 years old, Amer K. carries the responsibility of more than just his own family. In addition to caring for his elderly mother and father, he supports four widowed households, his sisters and their children, who lost their husbands during the conflict in Syria.
For Amer, farming is not merely a profession; it is the lifeline of an extended family.
Eleven years ago, relentless shelling and airstrikes forced him to flee Taybit Al Imam in rural Hama. Like thousands of others, he and his family sought safety elsewhere, spending years living in tents and enduring displacement, uncertainty, and loss.
When Amer finally returned home, the devastation was overwhelming.
His house had been reduced to rubble. The trees that once covered his land had all been uprooted. Years of work and memories had disappeared.
Yet, despite the destruction, Amer refused to abandon the land that had sustained his family for generations.
He cultivates a 10-donum plot where he grows wheat, chickpeas, peppers, and black seeds. However, farming has become increasingly difficult. Last year was particularly devastating. The family planted their crops, invested what little they had, and waited for the harvest that never came. Drought and poor conditions left them with almost nothing.
With food prices soaring and agricultural inputs becoming unaffordable, Amer feared another failed season.
"I look after many people," he says. "I cannot afford to lose another year."
Through the Economic Development and Food Security (EDFS) project, funded by Norway and implemented by Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), Amer received agricultural cash assistance that allowed him to purchase fertilizers, pesticides, and farming tools necessary to resume cultivation.
At the same time, food assistance provided through four cash instalments helped stabilize household consumption and enabled families like Amer's to meet their immediate food needs without selling assets or diverting farming resources toward food purchases.
The support came at a critical moment.
Because Amer no longer had to choose between feeding his family and investing in his land, he was able to cultivate his fields again and prepare for the new season.
This year, abundant rainfall has renewed his optimism.
As he walks across his land, he speaks of the future with a smile that had long been absent.
"I am happy to be one of the recipients because this grant gave me hope."
For Amer, the project has meant more than seeds and fertilizers. It has restored his ability to provide for those who depend on him and rekindled his belief that recovery is possible.
Amer's story reflects the broader impact of the EDFS intervention, which supported 580 vulnerable farming households in northern Syria through a dual approach of food assistance and agricultural recovery. By addressing immediate food needs while restoring productive capacity, the project has helped families improve food consumption, reduce harmful coping strategies, and begin rebuilding their livelihoods.
For farmers like Amer, recovery starts with the land. But its impact extends much further, to elderly parents, widowed sisters, orphaned children, and entire communities whose futures depend on the resilience of those who continue to cultivate hope despite years of loss.
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