DAMASCUS - Wheat is the most important food grain grown in Syria, being a strategic crop. Starting from the fact that food security is part and parcel of national security, Syria follows self-sufficiency policy, as it has been able to secure wheat throughout the past two decades and could import it since 1994.
In light of the importance of the crop, Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform set a fixed date for wheat in November of every year to work on increasing and improving the productivity of the yield.
The concept of food security was strongly highlighted in the annual conference for purchasing and manufacturing grains which has been recently held under the title of "achieving food security is a main priority to achieve national security".
The conference aimed at increasing planted areas, combating obstacles, developing new types of drought-resistant wheat grains and using modern ways of irrigation to increase the productivity of the strategic crop.
Head of modern irrigation project at the Ministry, Ahmad al-Qadiri, said that the modern irrigation could save 30-50 % of water roughly if compared to the traditional method of irrigation.
There are about 20 types of wheat including hard and soft grains, as Syria is famous for the world-most preferred type which is hard grain, according to Head of Planning and International Cooperation at the Ministry, Hassan Qatna.
"Three new types will be introduced in the framework of developing wheat productivity in the country," Qatna said.
The Ministry has allowed formers to broaden the patch of wheat planted areas at the expense of the rest of winter and summer crops, in addition to allowing the investment of reclaimed lands that have not been distributed yet.
The government encourages planting wheat through buying yield from peasants with subsidized prices. As a step forwards, the Ministry has increased the price of wheat one SYP for a kilo.
© SANA (Syria Arab News Agency) 2011
