President al-Assad instructs to work on providing soft agricultural loans for those affected by fires, Qatana says

Lattakia, SANA- Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, Eng. Mohammad Hassan Qatana affirmed that President Bashar al-Assad, during his tour in Lattakia province, instructed to work on facilitating the process of providing soft agriculture loans for those who have been affected by the fires.

In a statement to the Syrian al-Alikhbaria Channel, Minister Qatana said that “President al- Assad instructed to work on providing soft agriculture loans with almost zero interests, and specialized meetings will be held to exclude the loans from interests.”

He added that the President also instructed to distribute fruit saplings among the farmers to plant them in the place of the burned saplings and to provide the necessary mechanisms for that because the reclamation operations are necessary for reafforestation of these lands.

The Minister clarified that the trees need years to become productive and alternatives should be found through introducing alternative crops that help the peasants to obtain production till the fruit trees enter the fruiting stage as a group of medicinal and aromatic plants will be distributed, in addition to cultivating tobacco and some crops which can be planted under the fruit trees and can be a suitable source for their livelihood.

He affirmed that some issues which are related to the rural development will be also supported to help women to make food products and to benefit from the agricultural products in that.

Najwa al-Ali/ Ruaa al-Jazaeri