Damascus - Syrian Ministry of Agriculture and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on Wednesday signed and agreement on implementing a project for combating the wild eggplant weed in the Middle East.
The project, which includes Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan, aims at forging the required legislations and training staffs on combating the wild eggplant weed in addition to spreading awareness among the international passengers and industrialists on the dangers of this blight.
It also works on enhancing the exchange of information among the countries concerned and establishing more coordinated partnerships.
The project has also other goals such as achieving food security on the long-term, curbing poverty and protecting the environment and the biological diversity in line with the national strategies.
Several field schools for combating the wild eggplant weed will be also established in the framework of the project in addition to setting a long-term project for implementing an integrated combating strategy.
The agreement was signed by Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform Adel Safar and the FAO Representative in Syria Abdullah Taher Bin Yahia.
Minister Safar stressed that the project will play a significant role in combating the weed and create a qualified technical staffs that would be able to handle this type of blights.
For his part, Bin Yahia indicated that this vital project seeks to benefit from the experience of the FAO in combating the wild eggplant weed through using eco-friendly ways which do not depend on pesticides.
He said that the project will be connected with other projects related to the integrated combat of blights, adding that it will be implemented by the Syrian Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform on the regional level.
By Ruaa al-Jazaeri /al-Ibrahim
© SANA (Syria Arab News Agency) 2010
