Hummus-Sana
The scientific and practical meeting organized today by the Al-Zaytoon Office in the Ministry of Agriculture and the Homs Agriculture Directorate with the people affected by the fires in the western countryside of Homs included the measures to be taken by farmers whose lands were damaged by the fires.
The Director of the Olive Office at the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, Eng. Muhammad Habu, gave a set of advice to farmers whose olive trees were exposed to fires to be patient and not to rush to cut down the damaged trees and to take appropriate measures, including leaving the lands planted with olive trees that were exposed to fires for at least a month without interfering with the cutting and cutting operations. And other agricultural services in addition to directly irrigating burnt trees with water using forest tanks and extinguishing.
Habo indicated that, after a month of the date of the fire, unjust or regenerative pruning operations should be carried out according to the condition of the trees affected by the fire by permanently cutting all the burned and dead branches due to the impact of the fires and transferring them directly outside the field and maintaining and preserving the structural branches and stalk that are not permanently damaged.
The Director of the Olive Office noted the need for careful care of the burned olive trees, the provision of nitrogenous and organic fertilizers, and the cultivation of mixtures of leguminous plants between the affected trees and turning them into the soil in the pre-flowering stage to accelerate the tree's recovery of its activity and vitality, in addition to providing the necessary agricultural services such as cultivating, fertilizing, weeding and hoeing around the burned trees and watering them. Directly with water in case there is not enough rain.
Habo indicated the necessity of carrying out the process of pruning trees by cutting the dry part of the branches and located in the branches of modern growth, in addition to carrying out the vaccination operations at appropriate times, preparing the necessary pits for the patching process, planting olive plants in partially damaged orchards, continuously monitoring olive fields and integrated management of olive pests in addition to establishing fire lines around Orchards overlapping woodland.
For his part, the Director of Homs Agriculture, Eng. Muhammad Nazih Al-Rifai, pointed out that the number of damaged villages reached 14 villages in the western countryside of the governorate, and the percentage of completely burned trees is few, while the number of partially damaged trees reached 24 thousand plants, and the affected farmers reached 376 families affected by damage to different trees and raising chickens. And beehives and other sporadic damages, indicating that the damage included olive, apple, pomegranate, citrus trees and various trees, noting that the spatial committees studied the damages and counted them to support farmers in villages by providing material support and exempting them from some fees, and a large proportion of the losses incurred in the area will be compensated to achieve a quick recovery.
For his part, the head of the Homs branch of the Peasants' Union, Yahya al-Saqqa, stressed the necessity of providing all assistance to farmers and constructing agricultural roads in cooperation between the Directorate of Agriculture and the Union and farmers, noting that the necessary mechanisms for work are available and there is nothing left but the initiative to open agricultural roads because they secure the trapping of fires when they occur, pointing to the work to secure diesel To farmers, distributing fertilizers according to the available quantities, and delivering support to those who deserve it.
Head of the Olive Division in the Homs Agriculture Directorate, engineer Lama Qassis, indicated that the number of damaged olive trees in Homs is 13 thousand trees, and the affected expected production is 185 tons, which is 5 to 6 percent of the general production, and that the expected production rate for the current year is 114,476 tons.
Saif al-Din Suleiman, the mayor of a village near Ali stressed the need for the aid to include farmers who were exposed to fires, noting the need to rehabilitate the agricultural road between near Ali and Kafroun, and to support the village because there is no water in it and all crops are rainfed.
Mikhail Smtma from the village of Habanmara confirmed that the fires are frequent annually and sweep over the crops, which makes it imperative to work at a high rate to pave agricultural and fire roads, indicating that Habanamra needs two agricultural roads, each one with a length of 2 km.
A number of farmers whose lands were damaged demanded the necessity of working to build fire roads and support farmers with plantations, in addition to securing mechanisms to help them clean their lands and plow them because the wages are very high and they are unable to bear all these burdens.
Saba Kharibak