Farmers in Syria’s Suwayda accuse government of favoritism in compensating farmers after fires
SUWAYDA, Syria (North Press) – Farmers and agriculture professionals in Suwayda governorate, southern Syria, said they resent the Syrian government’s handling of fires that damaged various parts of the country this year.
Marhaj Abu Marra, a farmer from al-Mazra’a town in the southwestern countryside of Suwayda governorate, said he has not yet received any compensation for the burning of 50 hectares of his land, which was planted with wheat and barley crops.
“We have not been compensated by the government for a single Syrian pound, despite our repeated appeals and demands through the government agricultural office in the town,” he said.
The Agriculture Directorate recorded 450 hectares of land damaged by fires in Suwayda governorate, most of which were planted with wheat, according to farmers in the region.
Imad Wahba, an economist and agricultural and environmental expert in Suwayda, estimated the area of agricultural land affected by fires to be more than 16,000 hectares of wheat, barley, chickpeas, fruit trees, and forests.
Mashhour Zeinia, a farmer from Murdok town in the Shahba countryside, said the fires deprived him and other farmers of their annual earnings.
“Is it reasonable for the Syrian government to decide to support farmers of coastal areas affected by fires that swept the coastal mountains, without thinking about Suwayda’s farmers?” he asked.
The Syrian government has announced what it calls a comprehensive plan to compensate those affected by fires in Latakia, Tartus, Homs, and the Ghab Plain region.
Syrian President Bashar Assad also issued a decree to pay 10,000,000 SYP to each affected village.
A former official from Suwayda Council, who asked not to be named, said that some farmers in Suwayda are dissatisfied that they are outside the accounts of the Syrian government.
“Every loss is a loss to the government economy as well, but the Ministry of Agriculture has excluded the farmers of the Syrian coast only from agricultural loans and opened the door to financial donations,” he added.
The government has never issued any emergency orders to support Suwayda’s farmers.
The former official described this distinction between areas and governorates controlled by the Syrian government as “a blatant declaration of bias for one group of people at the expense of another.”