Homs-Sana
Farmers in Homs Governorate began the process of picking apples for the current season.
Engineer Nazih Al-Rifai, Director of Homs Agriculture, said in a statement to SANA Economic Bulletin that the apple tree is one of the main crops in the governorate, and the majority of it is planted as rainfed trees, as the total number of trees for the irrigated area is 1,572,706, including 1,341,548 trees, while the total number of trees for the rainfed area is 28,15477, of which 2,358,400 are fruitful.
Al-Rifai described the productivity of this season as good, as the initial estimates of production exceed 91 thousand tons of all varieties, pointing out that there is a difference in productivity from one region to another.
In turn, Eng. Tarif Mansour, Assistant Director of Agriculture in Homs, explained that the total area planted with apples amounts to about 11,000 hectares, most of which are of Golden and Starken varieties, and its cultivation is mainly concentrated in the Tal Kalakh region, the Qusayr region, the Western region and Taldo, pointing out that the directorate provides many services and instructions to farmers in addition to spreading the culture of Integrated management of pests of apples.
A number of apple growers demanded the provision of work requirements such as fertilizers and fuel, in addition to the need for the relevant authorities to intervene in the marketing process.
The farmer, Badi’ Zaitoun, from the village of Al-Qalatiah, said that he owns thirty dunums planted with apples, and the production estimates are good, but there is suffering represented by the high cost of agricultural production requirements such as medicines, fertilizers and fuels.
Farmer Bader Ajoub from Hadiya village stated that he owns 35 dunums of apples, most of which are of the golden type, and expects to produce more than 30 tons.
For his part, Mowaffaq Zakaria, Vice President of the Homs Farmers Union, head of the Marketing Office, stressed the need to support the marketing operations of the crop and issue marketing instructions, pointing out the importance of helping farmers in marketing by receiving all kinds of apples of all grades at reasonable prices for the high cost.
Saba Khairbek
SANA Economic Bulletin