This post is also available in:
العربية
With the start of the harvest season in the Deir Ezzor countryside, farmers await the results with a mixture of anxiety and hope, amidst the difficult economic challenges that have burdened them this year.
With the significant rise in agricultural and production costs, voices are rising calling for fair decisions that preserve farmers’ rights and compensate them for their previous losses.
In an interview conducted by DeirEzzor24 Network with farmer Nasser Musa Al-Darwish from the town of Hawayej Dhiab in the western Deir Ezzor countryside, he spoke about the significant increase in harvest costs this season, with the cost of harvesting one dunum reaching approximately 85,000 Syrian pounds.
Al-Darwish pointed out that the rise in fertilizer prices, labor wages, and plowing costs has increased the burden on farmers.
Al-Darwish called on government agencies to conduct a thorough study before issuing the official wheat price for this season, to ensure fairness for farmers and compensate them for the repeated losses in previous seasons.
For his part, farmer Musa Fahmi Al-Fandi explained that the price of wheat on the black market is approximately 3,700 Syrian pounds per kilogram, pointing to his losses this season, as his wheat production amounted to only two sacks per dunum, which does not cover the costs of cultivation.
In contrast, Engineer Abdulrahman Al-Awad, director of the Syrian Grain Establishment branch in Deir Ezzor, spoke about official preparations to receive the wheat crop from farmers. Two centers have been set up: the first in Deir ez-Zor city (the Euphrates Center), and the second in the city of Al-Mayadeen in the eastern Deir Ezzor countryside. Meanwhile, the Albukamal Center remains out of service due to damage it sustained earlier.
Al-Awad indicated that the expected wheat production, according to a study conducted by the Directorate of Agriculture, is estimated at approximately 30,000 tons, distributed between the western and eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor.
He added that the official wheat pricing has not yet been announced, but it is expected to be released next week after the completion of a study conducted by the General Directorate of Grains. He noted that the price of one kilogram of wheat last year was 3,500 Syrian pounds.
When asked about the possibility of receiving wheat from areas east of the Euphrates, Al-Awad explained that no instructions have been issued in this regard yet, but they are fully prepared to deal with any decision issued, emphasizing that the east of the Euphrates is an integral part of Deir Ezzor province
In light of the heavy burdens borne by Deir Ezzor farmers, attention remains focused on the upcoming government decisions, hoping they will be fair and supportive of the agricultural sector, which represents the lifeline for hundreds of families in rural Syria.
