Lack of support, rising costs threaten summer vegetable farming in al-Jazira

Summer vegetable cultivation in the cities and countryside of al-Jazira is considered one of the region's most important agricultural sectors. It supplies local markets with essential produce, contributes to food self-sufficiency, creates seasonal employment opportunities, and supports thousands of families who rely on agriculture as their primary source of income.

Despite the sector's importance, farmers say that the current season has been marked by major challenges, including rising production costs, insufficient agricultural support, and marketing difficulties, all of which threaten the sustainability of summer vegetable farming in the region.

The main crops grown during the summer season include tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers, zucchini, and potatoes. These crops help meet the needs of local markets, reduce dependence on produce imported from other regions, and are also widely used for preparing preserved foods for the winter.

These agricultural activities also provide thousands of seasonal jobs in villages and towns and have become an alternative for many farmers seeking to offset losses in cereal production over recent years due to declining rainfall.

In this context, farmer Mahmoud Zidan from the village of Halwa in the countryside of Tirbespiyeh said that the lack of agricultural support and the sharp increase in the prices of production inputs have left farmers at the mercy of the black market and traders. He pointed out that the fuel crisis is among the most serious challenges, as summer vegetables depend entirely on regular irrigation, while shortages of subsidized diesel and the high price of unsubsidized fuel have significantly increased the operating costs of wells and irrigation pumps.

He added that the prices of hybrid seeds, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides have risen dramatically, while counterfeit and unregulated agricultural chemicals have become increasingly widespread. At the same time, heatwaves and frequent power outages have damaged parts of the crops before they could be harvested.

He noted that farmers' difficulties do not end with production but continue through the marketing stage, where middlemen and traders dominate crop prices in wholesale markets, in the absence of any official mechanism to regulate prices or protect local producers.

He further explained that the simultaneous arrival of large quantities of produce to the markets, combined with the lack of cold-storage facilities and canning and drying factories capable of absorbing the surplus, has caused selling prices to fall to levels that do not even cover production and transportation costs.

According to several farmers, the cost of cultivating one hectare of cucumbers is approximately US$2,000, including land preparation, drip irrigation systems, hybrid seeds worth around US$750, approximately US$200 for fertilizers, in addition to transportation expenses, packaging, and other agricultural inputs.

Meanwhile, crops are being sold at low prices. Cucumbers sell for between 1,500 and 2,000 Syrian pounds per kilogram, tomatoes between 3,000 and 5,000 Syrian pounds, peppers for about 7,000 Syrian pounds, and eggplants for around 5,000 Syrian pounds per kilogram. Farmers stress that the prices they receive from traders are substantially lower than the prices paid by consumers.

The farmers called on the relevant authorities to ensure adequate supplies of agricultural diesel under regular irrigation schedules, provide reliable fertilizers and pesticides at subsidized prices, protect local production by regulating imports during peak harvest periods, establish minimum wholesale prices that guarantee farmers a fair profit margin, and build cold-storage facilities as well as canning and drying plants to absorb surplus production and reduce seasonal losses.

ANHA