Delayed payments to Hasakah farmers threaten next agricultural season

Farmers in Hasakah are facing mounting hardship as delays in receiving payments for their crops continue, with debts accumulating and production costs rising. The situation threatens their ability to cultivate their land and secure the supplies needed for the upcoming agricultural season.

Farmers say delays by the Agricultural Bank in paying their crop invoices have forced them to borrow money again to cover their farming needs, despite government promises to settle the outstanding payments by the end of October.

As the new season approaches, financial pressures are mounting, with combine harvester owners, workers and creditors continuing to demand payment while farmers lack the cash needed to continue farming.

Mounting Debts and Growing Demands for Repayment

Farmer Abd Saleh Nasser said delays in paying crop invoices had increased farmers’ debts, forcing them to borrow money again to cover the costs of cultivating their land. Many farmers, he added, have yet to receive any payments.

Nasser explained that he had delivered his crop more than two months ago but had still not received any of the money owed to him. He said repeated demands for payment from combine harvester owners, workers and other creditors had forced him to stay away from his home and family for two months to avoid being pursued over his debts.

Nasser expressed doubts about government promises to pay all outstanding invoices by the end of October, saying: “It’s all talk. There is nothing on the ground.”

He added that he did not intend to farm after this season and that, if he cultivated his land again, he would not deliver his crop to the government.

He also noted that the cost of cultivating a single dunum had risen from $12 to $30, according to his estimate. He attributed the increase to higher agricultural operating costs and labor wages, particularly fuel prices, further burdening farmers as the new agricultural season approaches.

Lack of Cash Threatens Next Season’s Planting

Farmer Ali Awwad al-Marei, from the Tal Barak countryside, said more than three months had passed since he delivered his crop, yet he had received none of the money owed to him by the Agricultural Bank, despite government promises to settle all outstanding invoices by the end of October.

Al-Marei said the bank lacked the liquidity needed to pay farmers. The delays, he added, had prompted him and other farmers to consider abandoning cultivation next season because they could not afford farming costs or purchase wheat seeds and fuel.

He explained that creditors, including fertilizer suppliers and combine harvester owners, continued to demand payment, while farmers were unable to settle their debts because of the delays in receiving payments for their crops.

Al-Marei described the hardship facing farmers this season as unprecedented, saying: “We’ve been left in a terrible state. In Syria’s entire history, nothing like what farmers are experiencing this season has happened.”

He called on the government to expedite payment of their outstanding dues. He added that farmers were making daily trips from distant towns to follow up with the Agricultural Bank, yet were still unable to obtain their money.

Partial Payments Fail to Ease Farmers’ Hardship

Farmer Sheikh Fathi Mohammed said he had delivered his crop last June but had received only one million Syrian pounds in the new currency out of the total amount owed to him.

He explained that the decision to pay farmers in four installments was supposed to allow him to receive a quarter of the total value of his invoices in the first installment. However, he received only one million Syrian pounds.

He added that Agricultural Bank employees told him during each visit that payments under the first installment had not yet been completed. Meanwhile, creditors continued demanding repayment and accusing him of lying because they believed he had already received all the money owed to him.

Mohammed said debts owed to agricultural pharmacies had further worsened his situation, adding: “We no longer return home because so many people are demanding repayment of their debts, and they have every right to do so.”

Shortages of Seeds and Fertilizers Raise Concerns over the Agricultural Season

Mohammed questioned when all farmers’ crop invoices would be paid, noting that October 20 had passed while they were still waiting for their payments, despite promises that all outstanding amounts would be settled by the end of the month.

He added that seeds were still unavailable and the agricultural licensing process had not yet opened. He questioned when licensing procedures would begin and whether they would coincide with the provision of seeds and fertilizers to farmers.

Mohammed stressed that the lack of cash had deprived farmers of the ability to cultivate their land, as they struggled to repay their debts and secure supplies for the new agricultural season.

He said farmers who had retained two tonnes of seeds might be able to cultivate their land, but would prefer to sell their crops on the open market rather than deliver them to the government.

Calls to Expedite Payments Before It Is Too Late

Amid these circumstances, farmer Sheikh Fathi Mohammed called for the urgent payment of farmers’ outstanding dues to enable them to cultivate their land and secure the supplies needed for the new agricultural season.

He noted that the approaching winter had heightened farmers’ fears of missing the next planting season if payment delays continued and they remained unable to purchase the seeds, fertilizers and fuel needed for cultivation.

ANHA agency was unable to obtain a comment from Agricultural Bank officials on the reasons for the delays, the proposed solutions to address them, or whether the government’s promises to settle the outstanding payments by the end of October could be fulfilled.

Meanwhile, sources within the Agricultural Bank suggested that completing the payment of all outstanding invoices could take several more months if the process continued at its current pace. This has heightened farmers’ concerns that they will be unable to secure the supplies needed for the next agricultural season in time.

a.k

ANHA