Damascus-Sana
A set of measures taken by the Ministry of Agriculture to expand the cultivation of the wheat crop for the 2020-2021 season, which it called the "year of wheat", starting with its launch in mid-September last year, a plan to expand the cultivation of this crop, as it planned to cultivate an area of 1.8 million hectares.
In a report today, the ministry explained that the agricultural production plan was circulated to the governors and directors of agriculture, through which it was permitted to exceed the specified percentage for wheat cultivation within the agricultural rotations and to set a timetable for supplying the necessary quantities of diesel to the governorates per month until 6/30/2021 and coordinating with the ministries of economy and foreign trade Industry and Agricultural Cooperative Bank to provide the necessary fertilizers for the crop.
The ministry indicated that despite the many difficulties and obstacles encountered in securing fertilizers, which are represented by the difficulty of importing due to the economic blockade and unilateral coercive measures imposed on the Syrian people and the accompanying high fertilizer prices, a ton of nitrogen fertilizer is still sold to farmers at about 193 thousand pounds, which is a subsidized price. Because the import price exceeds 1.2 million liras per ton.
According to the ministry, a central committee was formed to track the cultivation of the wheat crop and address the problems and obstacles. A central committee was formed for each governorate that includes representatives from the ministry and the General Union of Peasants and sub-committees in each governorate whose task is to follow the cultivation of the crop and address the difficulties and problems that hinder the farming operations, prepare reports and submit them to the central committee to take action The necessary procedures to solve it in the specified time.
In the governorates of Aleppo, Idlib and Hama, a public auction was announced to invest all agricultural lands capable of cultivating wheat within the liberated areas that have not been cultivated until now because the population has not yet returned to them, and the agricultural subcommittees were asked to take a pledge from the farmers who got the requirements of agricultural production of the need to market the production to the institution Syrian grain.
The Ministry, through the General Organization for Seed Multiplication, has taken all necessary measures to secure wheat seeds, and the quantities of seeds available for sale to farmers have been raised from 60 to 80 thousand tons, as well as sorting all agricultural tractors working in the agricultural directorates to work for farmers at a wage according to the actual cost until the end of 2020 and amending the schedule of need From the Agricultural Bank to provide the financing needed to grow wheat with short-term loans.
To encourage farmers to start planting wheat and implement the agricultural plan, the Cabinet set prices for wheat purchase at 450 liras per kilogram, with a delivery bonus of 100 pounds per kilogram.
Ghossoub Abboud