Homs-Sana
The Fund for Mitigating the Effects of Drought and Natural Disasters in Homs has begun disbursing compensation to the apple and almond farmers affected during the last season, according to Engineer Amin Al-Hamwi, head of the Department of Mitigating the Effects of Drought and Natural Disasters in the Homs Agriculture Directorate.
In a statement to SANA, Al-Hamwi indicated that the frost wave that hit the almond orchards during the last winter season, caused great damage and losses in the villages of Al-Mukharram, the Eastern Markaz, Al-Qusayr and the Western Markaz, as well as the apple growers in the areas of Taldou, the Western Markaz, and Tal Kalakh.
Al-Hamwi indicated that the number of affected apple farmers reached 3,448 farmers in 17 villages on an area of 32,000 dunams based on requests, while the value of compensation exceeded 432 million pounds, and the affected area planted with almonds reached 293,000 dunums belonging to 8101 farmers in 102 villages, with a compensation value that exceeded 3 billions of pounds, indicating that 25 million pounds were distributed as compensation for the death of sheep in the Taldo area.
Al-Hamwi stressed that the fund is working to compensate the farmers of fruit trees with sums of money as compensation for losses, indicating that great damage was inflicted on almond and apple farmers during the current season as a result of the frost wave and hail, and work is currently being done to count them through the formed committees.
For their part, a number of almond and apple growers demanded an increase in the percentage of compensation for the damage they suffered as a result of the climatic conditions, demanding compensation for the losses they incurred as a result of weather conditions and the frost wave, in addition to their demand to facilitate the mechanism and procedures for submitting compensation requests, and the adoption of the mechanism of the previous year, so that it submits Each farmer requests within the association of his village in order to save time, effort and material cost incurred by farmers.
Some of the affected farmers stressed the need to work on amending the mechanism of work of the Fund for Mitigating the Effects of Drought and Natural Disasters, by amending the conditions for obtaining damage compensation to include all damages of any kind and size, especially in these difficult circumstances.
It is noteworthy that Homs governorate ranks first in the country in terms of almond cultivation, in terms of area and production, and occupies first place at the level of Syria in the production of apples, and ranks third in terms of area.
Saba Khairbek
SANA Economic Bulletin
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