Food production in Syria has dropped to an all-time low as the country enters a sixth winter of war, U.N. agencies said on Tuesday. The study by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) said many farmers have been forced to abandon their crops due to rising prices for seeds and fertilisers. Wheat output dropped from an average 3.4 million metric tonnes harvested before the war began five years ago to 1.5 million this year, they said in a joint statement. “Food production in Syria has hit a record low due to fighting and insecurity but also weather conditions,” WFP spokeswoman Bettina Luescher told a news briefing in Geneva. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; editing by John Stonestreet)