Damascus, SANA- Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reforms, in cooperation with FAO and the Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD), organized on Tuesday a technical workshop on the management of water resources and the plans for securing irrigation to achieve sustainable agricultural development in Syria.
The workshop concentrated on the situation of irrigation and the water resources and targets of the agricultural development for the next five years and the suggestions of priority actions towards revamping agriculture and achieving food security.
Assistant Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reforms, Adel Karim, said that the workshop aims at reviewing the basic problems facing the water resources and bridging the gap between the water requirements and the agricultural production needed for reaching results that serve the application of agricultural plans in optimal means.
Karim hailed the cooperation with the FAO and other ministries concerned with the irrigation, water resources and food security, over the past two years, particularly following the damage affected the water and agricultural sectors due to the sabotage committed by the terrorist organizations.
For his part, FAO representative, Adam Yao, said that the organization worked, over many years, on providing technical assistance to the Ministry and the governmental bodies working in the agricultural field.
Yao added that the FAO seeks to obtain financial support through communication with the donating states to support the Syrian farmers to help them return to their lands and achieve self-sufficiency.
In turn, ACSAD General Manage,r Rafiq Ali Saleh, said that the workshop reviewed the pros and cons facing the water resources and sustainable development in Syria for reaching a more realistic and effective joint vision, developing the joint work mechanism and benefiting from the FAO and ACSAD technical and financial potentials to enhance the capacity of the farmers.
H. Zain/ Ghossoun