Rif Dimashq-SANA
A long journey, entitled hard work and diligence, is undertaken by the farmer Ziad Khattab from Deir al-Asafir in the countryside of Damascus to transform his barren, barren land into a green paradise, defying the difficulties and problems facing him.
The farmer Khattab, who was awarded the first degree by the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform in cultivating land and producing crops last year, told SANA reporter during his meeting on his land that the farmers returned to their town after it was liberated by the bravery of the Syrian Arab Army from the terrorist organizations that uprooted their trees and made them empty after they were A park for visitors and a summer residence for the people.
Khattab added: As soon as we returned, we cultivated the land, planted and produced it.. We faced difficulties in securing diesel and its high price, in addition to its loss, which led to poor production, which prompted us to search for a solution to our problems, as we had to sell a piece of the land we own to secure an alternative energy source by installing a group of 30 panels of solar panels with a capacity of 540 watts per panel to operate wells, irrigate lands, water livestock and light the house.
Khattab indicated that the project's founding cost was large, but it would be compensated by selling seasons and providing the purchase of fuel, noting that the installation of solar energy contributed to the return of life to his land and enabled his large family to light their homes and water their lands, operate livestock milking machines, secure green pastures and reduce the purchase of fodder where they planted this The season is about 260 dunums of wheat and barley and 40 dunums of beans.
The farmer Khattab added: Ghouta is the food basket of Damascus because it supplies the capital, Damascus, with all kinds of agricultural and animal products, calling on the concerned authorities to support farmers with soft loans to install alternative energies that help them restore life to their lands and achieve self-sufficiency for their country.
For his part, the head of the Damascus and Rural Farmers Union, Ziyad Khalil Khaled, explained that the unjust economic siege on Syria affected the agricultural sector in terms of production and its requirements, pointing out that most of the farmers tended during the last period to install alternative energies to irrigate crops in the eastern and western Ghouta regions to continue the agricultural process, where These energies saved the farmers a lot, despite their high start-up costs.
Khaled indicated that the union is working to provide material and moral support to the farmer according to the available capabilities and contribute to securing agricultural diesel, fertilizers and other requirements for agricultural production, which have become difficult to obtain in light of the economic situation and the unjust siege.
In turn, the head of the Damascus Peasants' Association, Anas Al-Masri, indicated that the association is working to overcome all difficulties and obstacles in front of farmers, pointing out that the Ministry of Agriculture distributed fruitful forest trees to farmers, the most important of which is sunshine seed at reduced prices to activate Qamar al-Din factories in the region.
Louay Hosamou and Sakina Mohamed
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