DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Since the beginning of 2023, the Syrian government promised to make a worthwhile compensation for farmers and to receive all the harvest. However, marketing challenges arise when it is time to harvest, forcing farmers to sell crops for a price below the cost.
There is a great need for low-cost fodder. The low price of fodder means low prices of many basic food stuff for the population. Still, the mechanism of how to deal with this product does not rise to its level of importance. It shows the scale of the government’s failure in managing this issue, similar to other issues.
Things are done like this
Abdullah Hassan from al-Ghab Plain in the far northwest of Hama Governorate, central west Syria, told North Press that he was one of the farmers who planted maize last year in vast areas after he believed the promises of the government to subsidize the harvest and encourage farming as a solution for the problem of the high costs of poultry breeding and their products.
But after farmers harvested the crops, they faced harsh conditions, which disappointed them and led Hassan along with other farmers to sell at a price below the cost.
The Syrian Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform brags about the quantities of production made last year that estimated at about 500,000 tons in government-held areas and at least 200,000 tons in other areas. It was an unprecedented production even before the Syrian war, which at best reached 300,000 tons.
However, Fodder Institution, affiliate with the government, bought 6,500 tons of the quantity produced as they specified the humidity required to approve the corn at no greater than 14 per cent. The price was set at 2,000 SYP ($0.20), but as some farmers said, only a few farmers have sold at this price.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform explained, in statements, that through the production of this quantity of maize has saved large sums of money, estimated at a trillion and a half if it was imported.
Those statements show the obstinacy of the government in dealing with strategic issues, as this profit for the state is a loss for the farmers who risked planting maize this year.
Left it upon farmers
Maize is harvested in winter, hence it is natural for the humidity to be at about 40 per cent.
The crops cannot be stored without being dried. However, the government has not taken responsibility for solving the issue of dryers and left it upon farmers, who suffered a lot in drying the crops.
Muhammad al-Khalaf, a farmer from Raqqa Governorate, northern Syria, said that he restored to primitive ways since there are no dryers, as he spread the crop on roads to dry it. The next day, it rained, so he had to gather the crop again and re-spread it again later, which affected the crop’s quality. Eventually, he had sell it at a price that did not equal half of the cost of production.
Al-Khalaf told North Press via WhatsApp that he will not go through the same experience again and plant his land since leaving it for sheep to graze is better than farming it.
A source in the Fodder Institution told North Press that the main issue is the lack of dryers. The government used to provide dryers, but they were vandalized during the years of war. They only cover a limited amount of the total production.
No one of the private sector invests in this area despite announcing multiple times for investment tenders with various capacities, some drying about 1,200 tons every day.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform always talks about the importance of investment in this field, but no one applies for the tenders, as a result of economic sanctions imposed on Syria, according to the source.
Limited capacity
The source expects that several dryers with small capacities will be available for the upcoming season in October.
He explained that the capacity of those dryers ranges between 60-250 tons per day. The dryers may not be sufficient to cover all production but will solve a part of the problem.
Last year, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) permitted the export of maize to areas outside of its control, expressing its inability to buy the crops from farmers.