Farmers Union in Syria’s Raqqa helps farmers obtain harvesters and fuel
RAQQA, Syria (North Press)-The Farmers Union in Raqqa, north Syria, is contracting dozens of owners of harvesters to work during the upcoming crop season, with the aim of preventing monopoly and unifying harvest wages in the region.
Muhammad al-Salim, head of the Farmers Union in Raqqa, said that the project of contracting harvesters will be implemented for the first time in the countryside of Raqqa, with the aim of standardizing harvest wages and preventing farmers from being exploited.
They have contracted so far with more than 70 combine harvesters for harvesting in the city of Raqqa this season, after coordination with the Farmers’ Union in the Jazira region in northeast Syria, he told North Press.
On Saturday, the Farmers Union of the Raqqa Civil Council announced the start of registering the fields planted with wheat with the union in the city of Raqqa, to secure the harvesters needed to harvest the crop.
Al-Salem said that the harvesters contracted with are of a type that also produces hay, in addition to harvesting grain, with the aim of providing fodder for livestock.
He pointed out that the process would also provide job opportunities for owners of harvesters from areas affected by the lack of rains this year.
The harvest season for irrigated lands begins at the beginning of June of each year, noting that the percentage of land cultivated with wheat is estimated at 30 percent of the irrigated land area in Raqqa.
The door to contracting is still open to all owners of harvesters, and diesel fuel will be provided for each contracted harvester at the subsidized price (125 SYP per liter) and in quantities commensurate with the size of the harvesters, according to the Farmers Union in Raqqa.
As for the harvest wages, it will be determined “in a way that suits both the owners of the harvesters and the farmers, in coordination with the Agriculture Committee,” according to al-Salam.