Homs-Sana
The Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, Engineer Muhammad Hassan Qatana, stressed the need to develop agricultural plans based on land uses, taking into account the arable lands and the lands that came out of agricultural plans, and the presence of stakeholders in the agricultural sector in the field to present proposals and initiatives according to the needs of each region.
Minister Qatana, during his meeting today with the stakeholders in the Homs Agriculture Directorate, drew attention to the importance of not allowing the wheat crop to be traded, stored and smuggled, to monitor the harvesting and marketing of the crop on the ground, and to address the problems facing farmers.
In a related context, he pointed to the necessity of counting the areas planted with almonds and vine in order to develop future plans and invest what is already there in terms of the number of trees and production, calling on workers in agricultural departments to submit programs and proposals for the development of the agricultural sector, both plant and animal, and how to expand some crops.
During his meeting with members of the Agricultural Association in the town of Taldou in Homs countryside, Engineer Qatna pointed to the necessity of marketing the wheat crop to the General Grain Corporation, as wheat prices are acceptable and make a profit for farmers, explaining that 800 dunums of land will soon be irrigated by the water of the Taldu Dam after the completion of the implementation of the irrigation canal.
At the Taldou Fodder Center and the Guiding Unit, its organizers pointed out, during their meeting with the Minister (Qatna), the mechanisms for distributing rationed fodder to livestock breeders, the necessity of activating the work of the guidance unit, and the difficulties they face as a result of the lack of technical staff.
Apple growers in Rabah village drew attention to the difficulty of securing fertilizers, fuels and pesticides, and the necessity of opening centers to receive and store the crop from farmers.
Minister Qatna's tour also included the Tal Kalakh silo, where the wheat crop is received from farmers and stored in the silo, which has a capacity of 100,000 tons, in addition to a facility for the production of oyster mushrooms in the village of Barouha.
In a statement to reporters after the tour in Al-Baqei'a plain in the governorate's countryside between Qatna, the aim of the tour was to prepare for the harvest of the wheat crop, to form field committees, to identify and address obstacles to marketing the crop, in addition to checking the work of a number of extension units.
The Director of the Grain Corporation branch, Engineer Samir Salama, said: “We started receiving the wheat crop from the farmers, and no shipment of wheat was rejected from them, and this applies to all receiving centers in the governorate,” pointing to the facilitation and simplification of the procedures for receiving the crop from the farmers.
Saba Khairbek and Abdel Hamid Junaidi
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