Rural Damascus-SANA
While the farmers in the village of Hosh al-Fara in the Douma region are preparing their lands for planting with winter crops, especially wheat, they continue to harvest cabbage, flower, spinach and other early winter vegetables, in addition to tomatoes, which continue to be harvested until mid-December.
Their connection to their land and their love of work was the main motive for the farmers of the village, which they abandoned for years as a result of the terrorist attacks, to restore life to their lands and to cultivate them with various types of summer and winter crops.
The farmer, Ibrahim al-Makbat, during a tomato harvest, mentioned in his interview with SANA reporter that he and his brothers and family managed to prepare and cultivate his 200 dunums of land to start harvesting their produce three years after returning to the village, indicating that within twenty days he will prepare no less than 100 dunams for planting with wheat as well. Hoping from the Directorate of Agriculture in the countryside of Damascus to secure fruitful and forestry plants for them.
Al-Mukbtal considered that production quantities for this season are good, indicating that one dunum of tomatoes produces between 6 and 7 tons per season, while one dunam of cabbage yields about 4 tons per season.
Ayman Jaara began picking the flower crop ten days ago and at the same time working on cultivating 15 dunums of wheat and 10 dunums of beans and peas, explaining that part of the winter vegetables began to be harvested, such as spinach, chard, onions, radishes, coriander and others, stressing that attention to farmers is a priority because the agricultural sector is the basis The economy requires securing the agricultural requirements of the farmer, especially diesel.
For his part, the farmer Mahmoud Mohieldin Saab pointed to the farmers’ suffering in securing the fuel oil, which is the basis for implementing the entire agricultural plan, stressing that the continuation of agricultural work results from the farmer’s attachment to his land despite all circumstances.
Head of the Agricultural Association of Hosh Nasri and Hosh El Fara, Ismail Hammad, explained in a statement to SANA that the total area of Hosh El Fara is 7000 dunums, 85 percent of which is cultivated land, and the number of farmers in it reaches 600. Approximately 1,600 dunams registered and licensed within the association and the extension unit in the Reihan area are being prepared for cultivation with wheat and barley.
Hammad pointed to the need to better secure diesel for farmers and give them interest-free loans and forestry and fruitful plants to compensate for the trees that were cut down and destroyed by the terrorists, explaining that all parties have been contacted to secure the planting and fuel oil for them.
Ismail Ambassador