Minister of Agriculture: The Syrian Government is working to Restore the Agricultural Sector

Rome, (ST) – On the sidelines of the 40th Conference in Rome, the Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform Ahmed Al-Qadri discussed on Friday with the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Jose da Silvia the reality of joint cooperation and means of development between Syria and FAO.

Mr. Al-Qadri explained the efforts exerted by the Syrian government to re-establish the agricultural sector and support the farmers despite the unilateral tough economic measures imposed on the Syrian people.

 He expressed thanks to Mr. da Silvia for the efforts made by FAO through its office in Damascus to support and develop the agricultural sector in both its plant and livestock parts, stressing that the coming phase requires more support to meet the requirements of the recovery and reconstruction era and in particular the contribution to the development of livestock sector, fisheries production and income-generating projects to support rural families and particularly rural women to improve their livelihoods.

Mr. Al Qadri confirmed the need for FAO to contribute to the conservation of natural resources, including the rehabilitation of forest areas, support programs to rationalize the use of water, raise production efficiency at the field level and the expansion of drought early warning project to include all provinces.

For his part, Mr. da Silvia stressed that the organization is committed to implementing agricultural development programs and activities and to providing all possible assistance to the agricultural sector and farmers, adding that it will increase its contribution by providing the necessary funding for the implementation of many programs and activities during the reconstruction phase and will support strengthening the protection system for livestock and plant.

Mr. Al-Qadri also discussed with the Deputy Director General and Head of the Natural Resources Department of FAO priorities for cooperation in the field of natural resources, especially forestry, soil fertility, land use, the expansion of modern irrigation methods, rationalization of water use in the agricultural sector and the importance of supporting the organization in agricultural scientific research and seed propagation foundation, plant protection, cadres qualification and quarantine and provide technical support in these areas.

The deliberations of the 40th FAO Conference are being held 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 and water scarcity.

Sharif Al Khatib