Damascus-SANA
The meeting of the Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, Eng. Muhammad Hassan Qatna, today with representatives of international organizations working in Syria, focused on discussing ways to mitigate the negative impact of climate change on the agricultural sector, resources and the environment.
During the meeting that was held today at the Ministry of Agriculture, Eng. Qatana said that the aim of the meeting was to exchange views with international organizations and declare a state of emergency regarding climatic changes taking place in the region, especially Syria, which had a negative impact on agricultural production and the loss of large areas of land planted with wheat, barley, rainfed and pastures. The natural resources needed to feed livestock and the damage to the local population in the second, third and fourth agricultural stability areas and in the Badia region, and their loss of their sources of income.
The Minister of Agriculture referred to discussing the response plan and agreeing to develop a joint plan and move in two directions. The first relates to direct intervention by finding a project to enhance livelihoods as soon as possible, and the second relates to developing an action plan and strategy to predict climate changes and monitor their impact on the agricultural sector, in addition to developing a medium-term plan for a period of three Years and other long-terms, and the distribution of roles between everyone in order to achieve integration and cooperation to address problems related to achieving food and water security, sustainability programs and addressing poverty cases that will arise as a result of these changes.
Minister Qatana pointed to the need to organize the local community to support rural families and family farming, provide food sources at the local level, strengthen monitoring stations, and create a climate change directorate.
The Director General of the Arab Center for Studies of Dry Areas and Dry Lands (ACSAD), Dr. Nasr Al-Din Al-Obeid, indicated that there is a new project that will be launched soon in Syria to help farmers and rural families by providing them with support and all the agricultural requirements they need to continue to stay on their land and produce and improve their level of income.
Representative of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Syria, Mike Robison, stressed the importance of cooperation with Arab and international organizations and bodies to discuss the impact of climate change and adaptation to it, and the need for a new response program on climate change in Syria.
The meeting was attended by the Resident Representative of the United Nations Population Fund, Dr. Iyad Nasr, the President of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Dr. Majd Jamal, and representatives from the World Health Organizations, the World Food Program, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific (UNESCO) and the United Nations Children's Fund. (UNICEF), Oxfam International, Action Against Hunger, a representative of the Aga Khan Development Foundation, representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.
Ghassob Abboud