Areas most in need of support must be prioritized, says Ministry of Agriculture

Damascus, (ST) –  The Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, Eng. Mohamed Hassan Qatana, discussed with Darius Vetek, Director of the Spanish Office of Action Against Hunger Organization in Damascus, the development of cooperation for the next stage and setting priorities for the areas most in need of support.

 Minister Qatana pointed out the need to expand work to include the infrastructure in the Syrian regions most in need of support for the organization, especially the rehabilitation of wells, securing energy sources by providing alternatives such as solar energy or biogas and establishing units for fermenting livestock waste. He also spoke about producing organic fertilizers from agricultural waste, and establishing centers for the production of fruitful plants in the regions and helping farmers to secure their food needs through raising poultry and domestic livestock, in order to achieve their stability in their villages.

Qatana pointed to the necessity of reviving the  Palmyra Oasis to help the residents return to their homes and to expand the organization’s work to include the eastern countryside of Idlib and Hama governorates, in addition to its work in Hasakah and Aleppo countryside. He pointed to the importance of the role played by the organization in the previous phase in cooperation with the Arab Center for Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD). 

For his part, Vitek pointed to the importance of the priorities put forward by the Minister of Agriculture to be discussed with donors and the expansion of the organization’s work to serve the affected rural communities and help them to stability and secure income, pointing to the role of “ACSAD” as a partner working in Syria.

Raghda Sawas