Doha: Qatar Development Fund (QDF) has announced reaching the advanced stage in the project to support activities in the northern region of Sahel Al Rouj, with a budget of USD 176,317 of the total approved budget of USD 546,777.
QDF said in a statement on Tuesday that the implementation of the project, which started in January 2017,will continue until the end of March this year. This project is being carried out by the Qatari Red Crescent (QRC) and is a continuation of the joint efforts of the two parties to mitigate the impact of the Syrian crisis which has been going on for more than six years.
Sahel Al Rouj is one of the most important plains in the north of Syria and is a major food source, as well as a source of income for tens of thousands of families there, therefore, one of the main reasons for the adoption of the project is the weakness in agricultural productivity in these areas, which was a distinct agricultural location, but the incidents in Syria in recent years have resulted in poor agricultural production, farmers are forced to rely on low-productivity rain-fed agriculture or individual artisan wells, resulting in high agricultural costs and the reluctance of many to abandon their lands or rely on relief assistance, which led to a sharp decline in agricultural production."
The project targets the restoration of the 5 kilometers-length irrigation concrete channel, the rehabilitation of existing power stations, the provision of well accessories, the supply of two generators to operate the pumps, the provision of a 525 m3 / h pump and the fuel required to support supplementary wheat crop irrigation.
Executive Director of the Projects Department at QDF Masfar Al Shahwani said that the project is one of the vital development projects, as it provides food support through the provision of agricultural materials, as well as self-sufficiency for a large number of families who relied on food aid, and contribute to the provision of basic foodstuffs in the domestic market, adding that the project achieves more than one goal at the same time.
For his part, the Secretary-General of QRC Ali bin Hassan Al Hammadi, said: "Due to the significant role played by agriculture in Syria and its economic importance in Sahel Al Rouj, which comprises 50 villages in Idlib Governorate, QDF has financed the collective irrigation project in this plain, which aims at enabling 5,200 farmers' families to return and to improve the productivity of wheat in the area unit. The project achieves wheat consumption for more than 13,000 people a year. It also creates jobs that help farmers to stay in their land.
Al Hammadi also pointed out that the QRC supervises the implementation of the project on the ground and follow up all the technical activities it needs. Where the estimated area of the fields benefiting from this project about 700 hectares can meet the needs of 13 thousand people a year of wheat, and estimated the number of beneficiaries of the project up to 28 thousand people, 55% of them are children.
