For decades, Idlib was known as one of Syria’s richest olive-producing regions, second only to Aleppo and its countryside. Before the war, more than 120,000 hectares of land were planted with olive trees, yielding up to 180,000 tonnes of fruit in a good year, according to pre-war estimates from the Agriculture Directorate.
After more than ten years of conflict, neglect, and drought, production has fallen by more than half. Many trees have been burnt or uprooted, and thousands of farmers displaced. As the new harvest begins, Idlib’s farmers face a season of mixed emotions; joy at returning to their land, and fear that the yields will be too low to sustain them.
“Walking through what’s left of my trees breaks my heart,” says 60-year-old farmer Saeed al-Mohammad from Saraqib in eastern Idlib. “The regime forces destroyed them as if they had a score to settle, but new shoots are growing again from the roots they couldn’t pull out. These trees are older than me; they’re my family’s legacy.”
Al-Mohammad’s story mirrors that of hundreds of farmers who lost their livelihoods during years of bombing and displacement. Experts estimate that restoring each damaged tree now costs around $75 annually, and that it takes over 15 years for a cut-down olive tree to yield again.
In southern Idlib, 52-year-old Osama from the village of Abideen says he was forced to abandon his groves in 2019 when shelling intensified. “We left just as the harvest was about to begin,” he recalls. “This year I came back. Some trees survived, but they’re exhausted, they need care, water, and time. My house is still in ruins, but I visit the land regularly. These trees are all we have left.”
Others have yet to return. In al-Nayrab, farmer Mohammad al-Ali says his land lies near regime positions, making it too dangerous to access for years. “I had around 300 trees,” he says. “When I finally went back, many were burnt or uprooted. The rest produce barely a quarter of what they used to.”
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Between destruction and recovery
Agricultural expert Abdel Karim Ghazal describes this year’s olive season as a “transitional stage between devastation and recovery”. He tells +963 that poor rainfall has reduced both fruit size and oil content. “Without irrigation, many trees wouldn’t have reached maturity. The drought, along with the loss of more than 1.5 million trees to fire and felling, makes recovery extremely difficult,” he says.
Still, he notes a modest optimism: the relative calm and farmers’ gradual return to their land have revived local activity. “If the security situation holds, production will rise again in the medium term,” Ghazal adds, though he expects this season’s yield to reach only about 60 per cent of normal levels.
A struggling but vital crop
The olive sector once provided up to 80 per cent of household income for rural families in Idlib. Today, the province’s Agriculture Directorate estimates production at just 46,500 tonnes – a sharp drop from 132,000 tonnes last year.
Abdel Ghani Zubeida, head of the directorate’s media office, says the collapse stems mainly from drought and soil degradation, but also from the destruction of more than 1.5 million trees during the war. Rehabilitating the land, he notes, “will take years of continuous work and investment.”
Zubeida adds that the high cost of irrigation – dependent on electricity, fuel, or solar systems – is another major obstacle, as are damaged rural roads, limited labour during harvest, and the soaring cost of operating presses.
Despite these challenges, he says, Idlib’s olive oil remains among the highest quality in the region, with local organisations now working to establish a laboratory to test oil purity and boost export opportunities. “Even in the worst conditions,” he says, “Syrian olive oil has kept its reputation.”
It is worth noting that the Ministry of Agriculture has set the start dates for the olive harvest across Syrian provinces according to local climate conditions and production estimates. In Idlib, the season began on 15 October in Jisr al-Shughur and Ariha and will open in the rest of the province by mid-November.
