IFAD Offers$ 5 mln to Develop Live stock

DAMASCUS, (ST) – Director of the Livestock Development Project at the Ministry of Agriculture Ayman Dibba clarified that the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) offered the project a long-term loan for a period of thirty years worth $ 4.5 million with a low interest and offered $ 500 thousandas a non-refundable grant.

“The goal of the loan, which will be distributed to a number of breeder’s cattle and sheep in eight provinces, is to establish small units for the manufacture of milk products, especially in the Ghab area, pointing out that the project is in coordination with the Agricultural Bank to develop the appropriate mechanism for lending. The loan will be given to breeders is an interest- free loan. The Ministry of Agriculture will pay the interest to the agricultural bank,” Mr. Dibba explained..

“The project during 2014 adopted the National System for the numbering of livestock and adopted private records of monitoring and following-up. It carried out seven field schools for cattle breeders in the governorates of Damascus, Sweida, Homs, Hama, Tartous and Lattakia. The number of beneficiaries reached about 148 breeders. The project also established 17 small rural finance funds in 17 villagesin the governorates of  Homs, Hama, Sweida, Quneitra and Hasaka, where the number of loans granted till the beginning of last April was 440 loans with a total value of about 30 million Syrian pounds,” Mr. Dibba said in a statement to local press.

Mr. Dibba pointed out that the project worked on training cadres able to apply integrated farming systems technologies and ways to take advantage of forage alternatives in feeding ruminants and the introduction of the cultivation of forage legumes within the agricultural cycle and the introduction of the cultivation of sleek cacti as an alternative feed on the one hand and as a profitable income on the other hand through the sale of fruits in the Syrian coast within the 14 villages, whereas the number of beneficiaries were 33 farmers.

Sharif al –Khatib