Damascus, Sept. 28 (SANA) Syria has launched a six-year, $175 million agricultural project funded by a World Bank grant to raise farm output, improve food security and modernize services through stronger value chains and digital records.
The STAR project will support crop and livestock production, agricultural cooperatives and private-sector participation. Project director Ahmad al-Ahmad told SANA on Monday that it covers the agricultural value chain from inputs to markets through three main tracks: better inputs, upgraded laboratories and quality certification, and links between producers and buyers.
Quality and market access
The project will rehabilitate seed cleaning and treatment centers and storage facilities and provide improved, drought-resistant varieties, al-Ahmad said. It will also upgrade food safety, plant and animal health, and agricultural research laboratories, with work toward international accreditation.
Farmers and cooperatives will be supported in obtaining Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and organic certification to help Syrian products reach foreign markets. The project also aims to improve packaging and branding and reduce post-harvest losses, particularly for export-oriented products such as olives and pistachios.
Cooperatives and private buyers
Al-Ahmad said producer alliances and agricultural cooperatives would receive matching grants, with beneficiaries paying part of an eligible project’s cost and STAR funding the rest.
The project also plans to link groups of farmers directly with processors, exporters and wholesalers through contracts intended to provide markets for their produce. Proposed changes to the legal framework would allow cooperatives to buy inputs collectively and market products together. Rules governing seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and animal feed are also slated for revision, alongside simpler procedures for approved private suppliers.
Eastern Syria a priority
Interventions will be allocated according to food insecurity, agricultural importance, local needs, safe access and the ability to carry out projects, al-Ahmad said. They will be based on evidence and need rather than distributed equally among regions.
Hasaka, Raqqa and Deir Ezzor provinces are priorities for urgent work because of drought damage and their importance to wheat, barley and livestock production. The Agriculture Ministry and the World Bank are studying a broader package for eastern Syria based on local needs and available data.
Digital records and early warnings
A planned national digital farmers’ registry will record landholdings, cultivated areas and crops to help direct seed and fertilizer to registered farmers and prevent duplicate allocations. A livestock registry will support vaccination, feed distribution and animal-health monitoring, while an electronic licensing platform aims to reduce paperwork for farmers and suppliers.
The project also includes a national agricultural data platform, an agricultural observatory and early-warning systems for drought, pests and diseases. The platforms will be introduced in stages, beginning with the core registries, al-Ahmad said.
He said complaints mechanisms and third-party monitoring would support transparency. Remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) would be used to estimate planted areas and monitor crop conditions, while updated information on drought, pests, disease and market prices would help farmers and authorities make earlier decisions.
A ministry technical team led by Deputy Minister Mustafa Zakiya met a World Bank delegation headed by Syria agriculture project official Isabella Liao on September 21 to review preparations for the project’s launch.
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