For several years, Syria has been undergoing a war for a livelihood, and Washington and Western countries have “mastered” how to punish the Syrian people and issue siege laws against them. They have monitored the seas and the sky with the eyes of its spies to prevent the passage of a whiff of hope, light, or a grain of wheat from the generous fields of our island.
We know this well, and with each harvest season we prepare the grains of wheat that we collect in our silos, to find out the size of the tragedy and the tax imposed on the citizen, so it is forbidden for him to dream of a grain of wheat from the island's yields that form the bed of our wheat and our reservoir of oil and gas.
Today, as we are on the threshold of an agricultural plan for the 2021 season, the Syrians have the right to ask their Ministry of Agriculture about its plan and what it has prepared for the next season, as they realize that the war is not over yet, the siege is intensifying, and our enemy is trying to block the horizon on us so that our sun does not shine, which calls for an exceptional plan for an exceptional situation like the one we are living in. Since years.
We in turn ask and present some ideas that may help support our food security based on the grain of wheat, as statements by some agricultural officials in the governorates show that we did not learn from last year's plan and did not change much in the agenda of agricultural priorities.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture figures in the governorates of Hama, Homs, Aleppo, Daraa and As-Suwayda, the area allocated for the cultivation of barley for the year 2021 exceeds 600 thousand hectares, of which about 10 thousand hectares are for the cultivation of irrigated barley in Hama, Homs and Aleppo, about 128 thousand hectares for rain-fed agriculture in Hama and 46 thousand hectares for rain-fed agriculture in Homs and around 400 thousand hectares in Aleppo, about 20 thousand hectares in Sweida, and 27 thousand hectares in Daraa.
Those who know agriculture say that irrigated lands should be allocated to wheat, and we suggest that one-third of the area allocated to barley for the next year be allocated to wheat cultivation, equivalent to 200 thousand hectares, provided that it takes place in the most feasible areas and is added to the area allocated for wheat and I think it will make a difference in our next season.
Not only that, the areas that were exposed to fires this summer have large areas that can be quickly reclaimed and cultivated with wheat, as they have fertile soil and high rains and can be equipped at low costs while securing the needs of this agriculture in terms of fertilizer and fuel, and encouraging farmers to grow wheat.
Also, the areas of tobacco expansion in the jungle at the expense of wheat need to be reconsidered with the necessity to grant the farmer competitive compensation that will bring him good economic returns and achieve our food security in the face of the orgy of the siege and its conspirators.
