Plans to rehabilitate grain facilities in Syria; demanding Qusayr silo back into service

As the Syrian General Establishment for Grains prepares to receive the 2027 wheat harvest and announces plans to construct new metal grain silos and rehabilitate existing storage sites, with the aim of increasing storage capacity and improving crop reception operations across the governorates, farmers are calling for the Al-Qusayr silo to be included in the rehabilitation plan.

ANHA correspondents documented the demands of farmers in Al-Qusayr and its surrounding countryside, along with technical information regarding the condition of the silo and the potential for its rehabilitation. The findings indicate that some facilities could be repaired and put to use in wheat reception operations, while other sections have been destroyed and require extensive maintenance work at considerable cost.

Transportation costs drive farmers’ calls for rehabilitation

The closure of the Al-Qusayr silo has placed an additional burden on farmers, who are forced to transport their crops to the Shinshar collection center for delivery. This increases transportation costs and the time required to complete marketing operations, in addition to the burdens associated with moving crops from production areas to collection centers.

Rehabilitating the silo is increasingly seen as an urgent need to make use of existing facilities and bring wheat collection points closer to agricultural land. This would ease farmers’ logistical burdens and help facilitate the marketing of their produce during the coming season.

This demand is not limited to the current season. Farmers in the Al-Qusayr area had previously raised the issue of rehabilitating grain silos during a tour by Homs Agriculture Director Nazih Al-Rifai on 30 April 2025. During the visit, he reviewed agricultural production conditions in the area and listened to the demands of technicians and farmers at the Al-Hawz Agricultural Extension Center. Their requests included rehabilitating the silos and securing fertilizers and fuel.

These renewed demands highlight the importance of addressing the condition of agricultural and service facilities involved in crop marketing. Continued reliance on the Shinshar center places additional burdens on farmers at a time when wheat cultivation entails rising costs for plowing, seeds, fertilizers, fuel, harvesting, and transportation.

Facilities that can be repaired and sections that have been destroyed

Technical information regarding the Al-Qusayr silo indicates that some facilities could be rehabilitated and used for wheat reception, while other structures have been destroyed and require extensive maintenance at considerable cost.

The western section of the center contains a large yard for receiving and disinfecting bulk wheat, as well as rooms designated for storing operational supplies, a sampling room, and a weighbridge for weighing crops. These facilities require maintenance and rehabilitation, particularly the weighbridge and its adjoining service rooms.

The old administrative building was destroyed by shelling, while a new administrative building was constructed in the eastern section in 2018. According to the available technical data, the new building is fully ready for use.

The eastern section also contains a grain silo comprising 12 storage cells, each with a capacity of 100 tones, giving it a total designed capacity of 1,200 tones. However, these cells have been destroyed and require comprehensive, costly repairs because the facility is built using a combination of concrete and metal.

A preliminary assessment of the maintenance work indicates that rehabilitating the weighbridge alone would cost approximately US$30,000, according to the on-site inspection documented in the technical report. Bringing the center back into operation would also require maintenance of the storage rooms and ancillary facilities, as well as the provision of essential operational supplies.

Other requirements include securing technical and administrative staff to receive crops and operate the center. This responsibility falls to the Syrian General Establishment for Grains, with the possibility of recruiting personnel from the area covered by the contract, as proposed in the submitted technical plan.

These findings make it possible to consider reopening the center for wheat reception once the necessary maintenance work has been completed and the required equipment and staff have been provided, without waiting for the destroyed storage cells to be rehabilitated, as their restoration would require separate work at a higher cost.

Homs produces wheat and relies on four collection centers

The rehabilitation of the Al-Qusayr silo is particularly important given Homs Governorate’s agricultural significance. Approximately 27,000 hectares were planted with wheat across the governorate during the 2026 season, according to statements by Homs Agriculture Director Khaled Tawileh, while the Talkalakh area accounted for around 5,000 hectares of the total cultivated area.

Wheat marketing operations in the governorate rely on four collection centers: Homs, Talkalakh, Shinshar, and Al-Mushrifah. Their reported storage capacities vary according to official data and the period covered by the figures.

In April 2025, the Homs branch of the Syrian General Establishment for Grains announced that four centers had been prepared to receive the harvest. It stated that the storage capacity of the Homs silos was 100,000 tonnes, Talkalakh 80,000 tonnes, Shinshar 100,000 tonnes, and Al-Mushrifah 10,000 tonnes.

These figures indicate that the governorate has an established wheat collection infrastructure. However, the continued closure of the Al-Qusayr silo leaves farmers in the area dependent on the Shinshar center rather than benefiting from a facility closer to their production areas.

During the 2025 season, the Homs silos received approximately 21,822 tonnes of wheat by early July that year. According to data from the Syrian General Establishment for Grains’ Homs branch, the quantities comprised 8,792 tonnes in Talkalakh, 6,878 tonnes in Homs, and 6,152 tonnes in Shinshar.

These figures illustrate the role played by collection centers across the governorate and the importance of distributing them geographically in ways that reduce marketing burdens on farmers, particularly in areas that produce large quantities of wheat.

Destruction limits Syria’s grain storage capacity

The demands of farmers in Al-Qusayr are part of the broader challenges facing Syria’s grain storage sector. Numerous facilities were damaged during the years of war, while others were taken out of service because of deterioration and prolonged neglect of maintenance.

In a recent statement to the media on 24 October this year, the Director General of the Syrian General Establishment for Grains, Mohammed Tareq Al-Sayyadi, revealed that the establishment owns 39 large grain silos, of which 25 are operational and 14 are out of service. It also owns 97 small metal silos, of which 38 are operational and 59 are out of service.

Al-Sayyadi explained that the reasons for these shutdowns vary, including the total or partial destruction of facilities during the years of war, deteriorating equipment, and the absence of maintenance for many years.

He noted that the establishment is working to provide an additional storage capacity of up to 700,000 tones by constructing new small silos and rehabilitating existing storage sites. He added that work is continuing at ten sites to complete rehabilitation, most of them located in the governorates of Raqqa, Hasakah, Deir ez-Zor, and Aleppo.

The published data do not specify the number of destroyed large and small silos in Homs Governorate alone. However, they illustrate the scale of the national storage deficit and the need to combine the construction of new facilities with the rehabilitation of existing structures that can be repaired.

These measures follow a season in which the establishment received approximately 2.7 million tones of wheat, while total storage capacity did not exceed 1.2 million tones. This forced the relevant authorities to store more than one million tones outdoors, incurring additional costs and exposing the grain to risks associated with weather conditions, storage, and disinfection.

Despite the announced projects, statements and announcements concerning the seven sites and the 15 additional sites have not included any declaration that the Al-Qusayr silo will be incorporated into the plans. No specific date has been announced for its rehabilitation or return to service.

ANHA