Damascus– Funded by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Syrian Ministry of Agriculture, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today launched the Economic Empowerment of Rural Women in Syria project. Under the Bathraa Initiative, this US$1.5 million project seeks to restore rural livelihoods, improve food security, and promote sustainable economic empowerment for approximately 285,320 people in three of Syria’s most vulnerable rural governorates.

Director of Community Support Department at King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, Dr Jawaher Almuhanna, said: “At KSrelief, we believe that empowering women is the cornerstone of sustainable development and resilient communities. Through the Bathraa Initiative, we support women in Syria to transform their agricultural potential into thriving, self-sufficient enterprises. By investing in women’s economic empowerment, we are fostering hope, resilience, and a brighter future for Syria’s rural communities.”

The launch follows the partnership agreement signed between KSrelief and UNDP in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in June 2026. Over 18 months, and in partnership with the Syrian Ministry of Agriculture, the project will rehabilitate and equip four women-led community production hubs in Zabadani and Hajeera in Rural Damascus, Al-Ghab in Hama Governorate, and Safsafeh in Tartous. These hubs will transform agricultural resources into sustainable livelihoods for 520 people, including 395 rural women and their families.

“This project is aligned with the Ministry's rural development strategy and is an effective mechanism for ensuring the needs of local communities are met and transforming Syria’s rural areas into spaces of inclusive production and scaled development, built on empowered communities. By integrating rural women into agricultural value chains, they become active contributors to local economic development,” said Dr Mohammad Al-Mekdad, Deputy Minister of Agriculture for Policies and Rural Development.

The hubs will provide inclusive, functional infrastructure to support rural women in producing, packaging, and selling high-quality agricultural products at scale. Each hub will include four food-processing units, two composting units, renewable energy systems, a veterinary service unit in Al-Ghab, market kiosks, and local sales points to enhance market access for the targeted communities. Once operational, the food-processing units are projected to generate approximately US$260,000 annually from dried fruits, jams, pickles, dairy products, and preserved vegetables. The composting units are expected to produce about US$13,000 annually in compost, compost tea, vermicompost, and liquid fertiliser.

Matching local needs and capacities, each hub will be anchored to the specific agricultural profile of its location. In Zabadani, women will produce fruit preserves, dried goods and herbal products. In Hajeera, where home-based dairy production is already widespread, a processing annex will allow women to formalise and scale yoghurt, labneh and artisanal cheese production. Safsafeh’s greenhouse economy will feed into a value-added processing centre for vegetables and citrus products. At the same time, Al-Ghab’s hub will restore a veterinary unit critical to the sheep-breeding communities that depend on it.

UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, Dr Rawhi Afaghani, thanked the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and KSrelief for their contribution, which supports Syria’s productive economy, and reaffirmed UNDP’s commitment to nationally led solutions. “The Bathraa Initiative puts rural women’s capacity to work for national recovery: producing for their communities, supplying local markets and contributing to the food security of the country. The hubs are designed and delivered with the Ministry of Agriculture and anchored in national agricultural priorities, so that what begins as a project continues as local enterprise owned and run by the communities themselves”, he added.

In addition, the project will train 440 rural women and community members in food safety, business management, marketing and quality assurance, regenerative agriculture, beekeeping and sheep breeding. It will also provide productive kits to support market linkage and self-employment. 

The hubs are designed to continue operating beyond the project's lifecycle. The Ministry of Agriculture will provide dedicated premises for an initial three to five years, with options for extension. The Ministry retains ownership of the buildings and equipment, while local women’s associations manage the hubs under formal agreements and reinvest a portion of revenues into operations, maintenance, and community activities.

The launch event took place in the presence of Mr Abdullah S. Alhoryes, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Damascus, Mr Mohammad Bathish, Head of the UN Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Dr Mohammad Al-Mekdad, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Mr Yasser Al-Shehri, KSrelief Representative and Supervisor of the Empowerment Section, Community Support Department, and local representatives.

Nearly 90 per cent of Syrians live in poverty. In rural areas, the situation is particularly acute, where the combination of a protracted conflict, economic decline, and climate-related shocks have eroded livelihoods, reduced agricultural productivity and pushed communities, particularly women, youth and persons with disabilities, into greater vulnerability.

Launched in October 2025, the Bathraa Initiative is a global initiative designed to empower small-scale rural producers in crisis-affected countries by transforming local agricultural potential into sustainable livelihoods. Its approach combines productive infrastructure, technical skills, access to markets and community-led economic opportunities, with a particular focus on women and vulnerable rural households. 

Media contacts: 

Dania Darwish | Communications Specialist | Syria Country Office | dania.darwish@undp.org 

Fanar Alshehri | International Communications Specialist | KSrelief | f.i.alshehri@ksrelief.org