The project of planting vegetable seedlings in the tunnels in Sweida achieves self-sufficiency and establishes small projects

Sweida-Sana

The project of planting vegetable seedlings in the low tunnels of Sweida is an important step to provide job opportunities for rural families, develop the agricultural process and support the local development process.

Eng. Alaa Shiheeb, Assistant Director of Agriculture in Sweida, explained that the project was launched last year in cooperation between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Federation of Agricultural Chambers to enable small farmers and owners of small, investable agricultural holdings to grow vegetable seeds in the tunnels and benefit from the seedlings produced by planting them for production or by selling 50 percent. Of them, in return for distributing 50 percent of it free of charge to other beneficiaries, pointing out that the project included 72 beneficiaries last year and 210 beneficiaries this year.

He said: The project includes distributing a grant to the beneficiaries that includes plastic tunnels for agriculture 10 meters long and 3 meters wide, a water pump with an irrigation network, a water tank, 60 corkscrew pots, a network of deception, seeds of vegetables, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, seed planting requirements, in addition to establishing field schools to train the beneficiaries.

He pointed out that there are criteria for selecting the beneficiaries, including the existence of land with an area of ​​100 meters and a source of water for irrigation, with priority given to families headed by women or with individuals with disabilities who did not benefit from the aid programs, provided there is a desire to work, explaining that the main beneficiaries of the grant produce vegetable seedlings as well as grow them.

Shehayeb stated that the project aims to encourage agriculture in the tunnels and develop them in the future by transferring farmers' experiences to each other by distributing 50 percent of them for free under the supervision of the Directorate to reach more than 1,400 families who can produce vegetables in a way that achieves self-sufficiency for them with the sale of surplus production and the production of reliable vegetable seedlings of varieties. Required in the market inside and outside the province of Sweida.

For his part, the project coordinator, Eng. Issam Hudayfah, indicated that 13 agricultural field schools were created in the targeted villages to train those involved in the project on how to produce vegetable seedlings within the tunnels under the supervision of specialized agricultural technicians and through periodic meetings with farmers and the adoption of the method of learning by practicing in them.

The project's technical expert, Eng. Salama Rashid, pointed out the development of the project's experience this year in Sweida, as a result of the experience gained by many of the beneficiaries, which prompted them to set up their own projects in this field.

During the meeting of the SANA Economic Correspondent with a number of beneficiaries, Kamal Sharaf al-Din from the village of Rima Hazem mentioned that as a result of his interest in agriculture and the presence of land next to his home, he benefited from the tunnel grant and planted seeds about a month ago and today he is producing seedlings as he distributed them for free to seven people in the village and intends to plant the rest of the seedlings. And sell them to improve their material situation.

Faris Nassar and Tawfiq Qatini indicated that they obtained more than fifty cucumber and tomato seedlings from one of its producers in the project free of charge to grow them in order to achieve self-sufficiency in these vegetables instead of buying them.

Long lifespan

SANA Economic Bulletin