Hasakah – North-Press Agency
Delzos Youssef
A project to grow vegetables in plastic greenhouses, supported by the Agriculture Committee in the Autonomous Administration in the town of Tal Tamr, north of Hasakah, was successful in the first year of its launch, and its officials see it as a step towards achieving self-sufficiency of the local output of vegetables.
Despite the small area on which the project was built, which is estimated at 5 dunums (about one and a quarter acres) and contains nine plastic greenhouses, its officials confirm that they were able, as a preliminary experiment, to cover the needs of the markets of the town of Tal Tamr from the three types of vegetables produced by the project (cucumbers, tomatoes and zucchini) in addition to selling the surplus in the markets of the city of Hasakah.
A successful experience
The project manager, Abu Shaheen, a vegetable farmer from the Afrin region, said: "The aim of setting up small projects to grow vegetables in the countryside of Hasakah is to meet the needs of local markets due to the high prices of vegetables during winter and their not being sufficiently available."
He added: "As a preliminary experience, the project achieved good production and excellent quality, and the other goals of the project are to provide employment opportunities for the workforce and influence prices within the markets, and to develop and expand projects achieved at a good rate."
Abu Shaheen pointed out that "last year the price per kilo of cucumber exceeded 1,000 Syrian Pounds in Tal Tamr, and the main reason for this is the lack of availability, while now it is sold at 600 Syrian Pounds, and we seek to reach half of the current price next year."
Good production and competitive prices
Haji Ismail Atouno, an IDP from Afrin and an agricultural expert in the field of greenhouses, said that last year they suffered losses at the beginning of the project following Turkish attacks on the area, "but with the new beginning this year, we have achieved a good production of crops, estimated at half a ton every three days," he said.
The crop is harvested every three days. Three tons of project production have reached the market so far, and the harvesting process will continue for six months, according to project supervisors.
Mahmoud Mohamed, a vegetable seller in the al-Hamra neighborhood of the town of Tal Tamr, said that he has been bringing vegetables from greenhouses for nearly two weeks "because of their quality and customer demand, in addition to the slight difference in price compared to vegetables brought from al-Hal market in Hasakah. There, one kilo of cucumber from Hasakah at 700 Syrian Pounds, while here it is sold at 600 Syrian Pounds and without transportation fees. This is what drives people to buy them, because all the food prices are expensive."