WFP urges Syrian humanitarian pause for crop harvest

The U.N. food agency is calling for a humanitarian pause in fighting in Syria to let farmers harvest their crops and get them to market, The New Zealand Herald reported.

The World Food Program says indications are that 2015 harvest will exceed last year's. WFP's executive director Ertharin Cousin says it's critical that the food reach parts of the country where people need it, given the huge numbers of Syrians who have been forced to flee their homes because of fighting.

In a statement Tuesday Cousins said: "Without a humanitarian pause by both sides, providing unhindered access to Syrian food and opening up corridors for transport, people will still go hungry, despite a good harvest, and prices for food will remain high."