Minister Qatana: Benefiting from the experiences of other countries to support and develop the agricultural sector

The Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, Eng. Muhammad Hassan Qatana, affirmed the Government’s interest in cooperating with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to transfer technology and international experiences and benefit from existing expertise in other countries in order to support and develop the agricultural sector in Syria.

During the meeting with the FAO Assistant Director-General Dr. Abdul Hakim Al-Waer, which was held at the ministry’s building today, in the presence of a number of experts and technicians from both sides, Eng. Qatana discussed the projects implemented with the organization and the ministry’s vision for the next stage on ways of cooperation and coordination and how to build the agricultural sector in Syria on scientific foundations.

Eng. Qatana explained that benefiting from the experiences of other countries to support and develop the agricultural sector in Syria aims to develop an integrated community and invest resources in a sound economic and scientific manner in light of the challenges facing the region from climatic changes, scarcity of water and land resources, and the difficult conditions as a result of the economic siege on Syria and the difficulty of securing agricultural production requirements.

Engineer Qatana noted the importance of the meeting in evaluating the projects that were implemented during the war period from 2011 until now to move to the early recovery stage or establish development projects based on the results of the agricultural sector forum, which drew up agricultural policies and strategies that must be applied for the next stage 2020-2030 in order to restore the agricultural sector so to be a competitive development sector.

Minister Qatana indicated that during the previous period, and in cooperation with the FAO, many projects related to the management and protection of forests, management and control of pests, livestock projects and some programs for managing natural resources and working to establish the National Center for Agricultural Policies were implemented.

For his part, Dr. Al-Waer stated that reviewing the mechanisms of cooperation with agriculture is a very important step to intensify this cooperation, identify needs and agree on the next stage, stressing the keenness of the FAO to cooperate with Syria and provide technical support and expertise and help in the search for funding opportunities for programs and projects that come within the framework of FAO work and tasks.

Dr. Al-Waer indicated that Syria is trying to recover from the effects of the war and the Corona pandemic that affected all countries of the world and the damage to food supply chains due to the Ukraine crisis, explaining that this puts greater challenges and obligations to reconsider the priorities of cooperation between the FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform in the next stage to achieve efficient services to farmers, and to support rural areas.

NR