AANES welcomes US Agency’s decision to send wheat seeds to NE Syria
RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – On Friday, an official of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) welcomed the decision of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to send a quantity of wheat seeds for farmers to the region.
Two days ago, USAID announced that it will send about 3,000 tons of wheat seeds for Syria’s northeast.
The co-chair of the Economy and Agriculture Board of AANES, Salman Barudo, said that the 3,000 tons provided by the US agency is welcome, but it does not cover the shortage of seeds in the region.
He added to North Press that the AANES distributed 35,000 tons of wheat seeds to the farmers, while the farmers’ real needs exceed 50,000 tons.
As a result of the low cultivation production, low rainfalls in light of the drought that worsened with the Turkish cutoff of the Euphrates River water supply to Syrian territory, the coming season will form a challenge to the AANES.
In a previous statement, Barudo expected that the production of wheat would meet about two-thirds of the needs of Syria’s northeast and that the administration is ready to import wheat to meet the needs of the region.
Meanwhile, the AANES set the price of wheat seeds at 1,200 Syrian pounds (SYP, about $0.34) and began the distribution process early, while the price in markets reached 1,700 SYP (about $0.49).
“Demands of Syrian farmers of aid after witnessing drought, conflict, and weak seed productions in northeast Syria, prompted us to send the seeds to the region, USAID said.
These factors caused shortage in the quantities of seeds of this year’s agriculture season amidst fears regarding the future seasons and food supplies.
The AANES’s Agriculture Board added that what it was able to supply of seeds is less than the farmers’ needs, assuming this to the preservation of the wheat reservoir designated for bread.