Agriculture Minister Calls on FAO to Increase Support for Income-Generating Projects

Rome, (ST) – On the sidelines of the 40th Conference held in Rome, the Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform Ahmed Al-Qadri discussed with officials of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) the possibility of developing cooperation in the implementation of projects with sustainable development dimension in the areas of livestock, and rehabilitation of veterinary services and projects to develop milk production and processing.

 During his meeting with FAO Assistant Director General for Operations Laurent Thomas and Emergency Director Dominique Jargon, Mr. Al-Qadri said that the sustainable management of natural resources in Syria, especially irrigation networks and forest resources, which have been badly damaged by terrorism, should be given the attention required in the organization’s work plan.

The Minister of Agriculture called for increasing support for income-generating projects, especially in rural areas, and to benefit from renewable energies such as bio-gas and solar energy, and to study the possibility of re-supporting and revitalizing the Agricultural Policy Center for its important role in preparing studies for the development of the agricultural sector and mapping out future policies.

Mr. Thomas and Mr. Jargon emphasized the importance of the proposed projects and promised to examine their potential in the organization’s work plans.

On the other hand, Mr. Al-Qadri participated in the special event of water scarcity, adaptation to climate change, drought management and presented the Syrian experience in the field of integrated water resource management and the national project to transform modern irrigation to increase the efficiency of water use.

The deliberations of FAO’s 40th conference were held on July 3 in Italy with the participation of 196 countries and 100 governmental and non-governmental organizations to study the state of agriculture and food security in light of climate change, water scarcity and the measures to be taken to address these challenges.

“The support of international organizations for the agricultural sector in Syria did not exceed in the plan of response last year 21 % of the amounts pledged by these organizations to provide them,” Mr. Al-Qadri said in his speech to the conference.

 Sharif al -Khatib