Agriculture witnesses prosperous after liberating al-Raqqa

KHALED AL_JUMAH /AL_RAQQA

Al-Raqqa  city is considered one of the most distinguished cities in Syria. The majority of al-Raqqa  city depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Since ancient times, they have practiced agriculture, and agriculture has flourished during the years leading up to the war in Syria due to its availability of fertilizers, pesticides and arable land, especially on the Euphrates and Balikh rivers.

The most productive agricultural crops in Raqqa

Wheat is one of the most productive agricultural crops in the rural areas. Most of the farmers in the winter season cultivate wheat in both types (hard and soft) as well as agriculture on the banks of the Euphrates and the Balkans By and the average production is about 700 kg per acre.

Second is cotton or so-called white- gold in al-Raqqa city. The parents cultivate cotton in the summer season and work on it for 4 months from planting until harvest. The production of one dunum of cotton was 600 kg.

Then comes the vegetables of all kinds and vegetables are cultivated in the countryside of al-Raqqa , but the southern countryside of al-Raqqa city beside the Euphrates River is the main center for growing vegetables, especially in al-Kasrat areas , which is famous for growing vegetables since ancient times, because of its proximity to the Euphrates River and the production of  al-Kasrat lands overs the need of al-Raqqa  people completely of all kinds of vegetables.

Quantities of production during domination of Islamic State 's gangs

After the domination of IS mercenaries to al-Raqqa  city and its rural areas, the level of agriculture in al-Raqqa decreased. Production of one dunum of wheat reached 300 kg, after producing 700 kg and cotton, from 600 kg to 200 kg per dunum.

As for the sugar beet and its production in al-Raqqa, a sugar refinery was built with a production capacity of 4,000 tons per day. In 2011, the province planted a thousand hectares and produced about 330 thousand tons of sugar beet. However, the plant was destroyed  due to of bombing by military aircraft. Of the Syrian regime. Since then, no dunums of sugar beet have been planted in al- Raqq city .

The agriculture had deteriorated during domination of IS

The farmers had severly suffered during dominiation of Islamic State 's gangs of the high taxes and fines imposed by IS gangs and the low prices of agricultural crops because of the meager price of IS gangs who had been forced to buy crops from the farmers forcibly and were transferred from al-Raqqa city  and then sell the crops to Iraq.

Al-Raqqa people suffered from the siege for 4 consecutive years and  Islamic State 's gangs were preventing the people from selling their crops abroad or buying anything from outside the province. The main reason for the decline in agriculture during this period is the interruption of fertilizers and pesticides and their crops if they are available. The price of one ton of fertilizer is one million Syrian pounds IS mercenaries would impose sanctions on traders who bring fertilizer from areas controlled by the Syrian regime and the material conditions of al-Raqqa people does not allow them to buy fertilizer at this price because the production does not cover all the expenses of the season of all kinds and all agricultural crops need fertilizer, except legumes

The first steps which were taken to support agriculture after liberating al-Raqqa city  

After liberating al-Raqqa city from IS on 20 October 2017 by viture of  Syrian Democratic Forces SDF fighters, Irrigation Committee of al-Raqqa Civil Council started repairing the irrigation water pumps. The irrigation water pumps, including the 10,000-hectare well pump, Yamama, high lift pump and the fifth pump), all of which irrigate thousands of dunums in al-Raqqa and its countryside.

In this regard, the Co-chair of Agriculture Committee of al-Raqa Civil Council Mohammed Wissou, who said "After the liberation of the city of al-Raqqa, the Agriculture Committee started its work and we made many rounds of agricultural land and found that all the land was barren because of the destruction of all the infrastructure supporting agriculture from pumps water ."

After rehabilitating the irrigation pumps in rural areas, the residents of the city of al-Raqqa began to rehabilitate their land and support them with fertilizer, which deprived the land of them for the past 7 years and returned to cultivate the crops they are previously cultivated except for the sugar beet, because there is no sugar refining plant in the governorate after it was destroyed.

The Agricultural Committee belonging to al-Raqqa Civil Council worked to secure the seeds and fertilizers for preparing for the coming seasons and changed the quality of the seeds that the people of al-Raqqa have been re-planting itself for 7 years  which had caused to low  production where cultivation of the same seeds in the land and the absence of fertilizers that help the growth of seed and increase production to provide them at prices commensurate with the conditions of the farmers

After liberating al-Raqqa city from IS , the farmers began to grow crops and buy the basic component that makes farming successful, namely fertilizer and without fertilizers can not land in the countryside to return as it was because of the interruption of fertilizers over the past years and high prices, but now the price Fertilizers are very low and proportionate to the situation of farmers and the price of tons of fertilizer at the present time about 280 thousand Syrian pounds after it was sold about one million Syrian pounds, and all agricultural crops in al-Raqqa need fertilizers, except legumes

At present, al-Raqqa  people and its villages continue to cultivate, hoping that this season will benefit them and compensate for their loss in the past seasons. However, there are some fears of restrain Euphrates water level. If this continues, the water level will decline significantly by the Turkish state, and farmers will not be able to see their crops as required and will lead to weak quantities of production noting  that the Turkish state has reduced the amount of water going to the north of Syria out of the creation of problems and damage to agricultural areas, but despite this siege imposed on the water the people of al-Raqqa have planted thousands of hectares of cotton and maize and are working hard to improve their agricultural situation.

(T/S)

ANHA