Damascus - The 10th Conference on Scientific Agricultural Research was held Sunday with the participation of a number of specialized agricultural researchers and Arab and international organizations specialized in agricultural affairs.
64 orally-presented researches and 26 other attached researchers will be put forth during the conference. They will cover important strategic subjects in the field of advanced agricultural scientific researches.
A study of the proposed researches will be carried out to assess if they can be further developed and built on. Eventually, applicable recommendations are sought that should be of an economic value to contribute to increasing agricultural productivity in quality and quantity.
The conference was held at the stadium of Damascus University by the General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research, which was established by a law in 2001 and is made up of 17 research centers and 70 laboratories, some are internationally accredited.
Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform Ahmad al-Qaderi highlighted the government's continued support to the General Commission, noting that the annual budget of the Commission exceeds SYP 1 billion and the number of PhD researchers it includes has amounted to 406.
The foundation of the Commission, the Minister pointed out, has brought all bodies concerned with agriculture under one umbrella and accelerated steps to conduct researches with high efficiency.
Hailing the Commission's efforts in developing many varieties of grains, legumes and cotton among other species, al-Qaderi said focus must now be placed on the researches of Water and Supplementary Irrigation Unit and paying more attention to the impact of climate change on natural resources and water needs.
He stressed the need to increase attention to developing drought-tolerant varieties and carrying out researches that would lead to increasing the productivity of the Animal Unit.
The Commission's Director Hussein al-Zoubi said the Commission is moving with steady steps towards its future vision of improving agricultural production, both animal and plant, and achieving sustainable development.
A number of workers and researchers were honored in the course of the conference in appreciation of their efforts in developing agricultural fields.
© SANA (Syria Arab News Agency) 2014
