Hummus-Sana
Tal Kalakh farmers in the countryside of Homs began to harvest the strawberry crop, amid optimism, with abundant production for this season compared to previous years.
Farmer Khader Al-Ali indicated to SANA's correspondent that the current season promises good production and excellent quality compared to previous years, attributing the reason to the state of warmth that prevailed in the last period.
Farmer Muhammad Al-Ahmad confirmed that compared to last year, the greenhouse production during the current season and with the beginning of harvesting the crop reaches about 20 kg, which is an encouraging start, as the fruits are in excellent condition in terms of quality and size, indicating that the production of the house during the months of February and March increases during the process of harvesting. Each one reaches more than 100 kg, while the greenhouse production during the whole season reaches about 1000 kg, indicating that strawberry cultivation needs constant care in terms of maintaining freedom from diseases and providing quality fertilizers to obtain quality production.
Farmer Yusef Al-Ali explained that the harvesting process started now through a number of centers that spread in the western countryside of the governorate where farmers' production is collected in these centers and then shipped to the rest of the governorates, indicating that prices are currently acceptable in relation to production costs, pointing out the importance of supporting this agriculture in Western Homs countryside, as it has become one of the main crops and a source of income for many families, whether in terms of subsidizing production costs or creating export markets.
Farmer Alaa Al-Saleh emphasized the necessity of monitoring by the Agricultural Directorate of Agricultural Pharmacies in terms of the quality and effectiveness of pesticides and fertilizers, especially that the strawberry crop is very sensitive and requires follow-up to diseases and specific pesticides. These materials are for the farmer's confidence.
In turn, Eng. Omar Ubaid, Head of the Tal Kalakh Agriculture Department, stated that the strawberry crop became the first winter crop for the farmers of Tal Kalakh countryside because of the region’s suitable climate for its cultivation and the low production costs compared to other protected crops.
Obaid explained that the areas planted with the strawberry crop increased dramatically during the past two years, which secured new job opportunities, stressing the importance of supporting farmers of this crop and securing production requirements of specific fertilizers and pesticides.
Ahmed Nassar