Proposals and ideas to enhance investment in the agricultural sector during a meeting of government agencies and investors

Damascus-SANA

With the aim of encouraging investment in the agricultural sector and discussing the difficulties encountered in working with it, the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform organized today, in cooperation with the Federation of Chambers of Agriculture, a meeting that brought together a number of concerned parties and investors, at the Damaroz Hotel in Damascus.

During the meeting, a presentation was made of the agricultural reality in both its animal and vegetable parts, production and marketing requirements, the future vision for its development and the advantages it enjoys, and the facilities provided by the new Investment Law No. 18 of 2021 for investors.

In a statement to reporters, the Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, Eng. Mohamed Hassan Qatna, pointed out the importance of the meeting to shed light on the laws and legislation governing investment in this sector, to see the difficulties and obstacles that those wishing to invest in, and to discuss the mechanism for providing facilities to them, pointing to the distribution of a research form to the attendees to identify the most prominent obstacles and proposals. In addition to distributing 17 guides for all agricultural activities implemented by the Ministry.

The Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade, Dr. Muhammad Samer Al-Khalil explained that since the issuance of the new Investment Law No. 18 last year until now, 32 investment licenses have been granted with a capital exceeding 1270 billion Syrian pounds, indicating that the government provides all support to encourage investment to restore lost investments and direct new investments towards priority sectors.

Al-Khalil pointed out that the agricultural sector contributes more than 14 percent of the gross domestic product, and that the meeting is an opportunity to enhance investment in it and increase the number of investment projects in this sector, as it is the only one that is exempt from taxes at a full rate and for the life of the project.

Minister of Industry Ziad Sabbagh stressed the importance of putting forward projects for investment in the agricultural sector due to the presence of agricultural products that are included in industrial production.

The head of the Federation of Chambers of Agriculture, Muhammad Kishto, said that the meeting was qualitative and included proposals for developing and improving investment in the agricultural sector, especially the legislation governing that, noting that investment in this sector is a profitable investment in the medium and long term.

The Director of Agricultural Economics at the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Ahmed Diab, explained that the meeting is an opportunity to inform investors of everything related to investment steps in this sector and the ministry's vision in terms of transforming the agricultural sector into a competitive development sector and preparing the logistical and infrastructure infrastructure to achieve this.

The Director General of the Syrian Investment Authority, Madian Diab, stressed that the efforts of the concerned authorities focus on expanding the volume of investment and targeting projects that rely on new methods and advanced technology that increase productivity and support the agricultural sector by securing its requirements.

Investor Mohamed Khair Darwish, head of the Industrial Investment Committee in Quneitra, called for providing greater legislative facilities that support agricultural investment in the production of corn, wheat and barley and allow the establishment of productive projects in non-arable lands, including the extraction of basalt rocks and the establishment of renewable energy projects.

The investor, Dr. Yassin Al-Ali, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Raayati Agricultural Investment Company, stressed the importance of supporting investment in organic agricultural and animal products because they are a globally competitive local product. Therefore, the company is working to increase its investment in this field, such as the production of meat, milk and its organic derivatives, and the production of seedlings, plantings and organic trees.

The meeting was attended by a number of members of the People's Assembly, investors, representatives of relevant ministries and institutions, ambassadors and representatives of diplomatic missions of a number of Arab and foreign countries in Damascus, the Director of the Arab Center for Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD) and a representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Mehran Mualla

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