DAMASCUS, (ST) – Syria is involved as one of the Member States of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations through its various ministries and institutions of the world to revive the World Food Day each year. This event is considered a starting point to map out studies and new projects to reconfigure the Syrian agricultural basket through the promotion of new elements to agriculture.
The nations and world organizations that have interest in the food security celebrate in 16 October each year the World Food Day. This occasion aims to support and develop agricultural, environmental, and social policies that will help conducive to the cultivation of a family sustainable, increasing knowledge, awareness and a better understanding of the needs of family agriculture and the obstacles that hinder these needs.
The Food and Agriculture Organization called this year’s festival as the International Year of Family Farming Under the title “Family farmers, feeding the world and protecting the planet.”
The Ministry of Agriculture, in this area, provides great interest to small family projects. This interest, according to the Director of Agricultural Guidance at the ministry Jamal Farroukh is reflected in the implementation of many development projects that help poor rural households, and providing soft loans for the establishment of projects including all agricultural, service and productivity activities with the aim of encouraging farmers to achieve food security.
“To achieve comprehensive development and securing food require the increase of international efforts to improve the level of farmers to gain access to a world free from poverty and hunger,” Mr. Farroukh said.
He stressed the need to raise farmers’ ability to gain access to productive resources as agricultural equipments, support, rehabilitation, and training of technical personnel, development of scientific research and agricultural resettlement of modern technologies to enable them to increase production and enhance the elements of sustainable development.
Sharif al -Khatib