The Syrian government announces the start of the integration of agricultural institutions in Al-Hasakah

The Ministry of Agriculture announced the start of the steps to integrate agricultural institutions in Al-Hasakah province, in implementation of the terms of the January 29 agreement with the SDF.

The Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement on its Telegram channel on Saturday that a meeting that included the director of agriculture in Al-Hasakah Hayel Al-Kalash, who is in charge of the Agriculture Authority in the Autonomous Administration, Mazloum Hassan, discussed the development of a comprehensive plan for the integration process according to specific criteria and priorities.

The statement explained that it was decided to start merging the Directorate of Agriculture as the first step in this process, amid a positive atmosphere and full agreement on the necessary measures to enhance coordination between the various departments and ensure the success of the process.

He pointed out that the meeting dealt with the mechanism of distributing "resources" to the agricultural departments, and ways to market agricultural crops, with a focus on organizing work and raising the level of coordination between the concerned authorities.

The statement added that the meeting reviewed the preparations and procedures necessary to receive the wheat crop, and coordination mechanisms to ensure the optimal progress of the receipt and marketing processes, in a way that contributes to the success of the agricultural season.

Al-Hasakah prepares to receive one million wheat

The meeting comes at an important time in parallel with  the completion of its logistical and technical preparations and  the official start of receiving wheat shipments, in a season that is expected to be the largest in years thanks to heavy rains that raised production to unprecedented levels. 

According to the branch of the Syrian Grain Foundation in Al-Hasakah, preliminary estimates indicate that between 800,000 and one million tons of wheat can be received within the province, out of a total production of about 1.2 million tons for the Jazira region.

The branch management indicated in a statement on Friday, June 5, that the supply operations were supposed to start at the beginning of June, but the heavy rains delayed the ripening of the ears, which prompted the actual start of harvesting and marketing during the past days, provided that the process will continue without a time or quantity ceiling until the full harvest is received from the farmers.

The governorate relies on an electronic platform to book the floors in advance, which allows the completion of inspection, weighing, and unloading within just one day for each mechanism, and ensures a high flow in receiving the crop.

The silos currently hold a strategic stock of between 400,000 and 500,000 tons from previous seasons, which is being gradually transferred in parallel with new purchases to avoid any storage bottlenecks.

Integration of SDF institutions

Following the military operation launched by the Syrian government last January, through which it recaptured areas that were under the control of the SDF in Aleppo and northeastern Syria, the country has entered a new phase of reintegrating the SDF's institutions into state institutions, after years of the control of the "Autonomous Administration" and security and administrative fragmentation.

  The January 29 agreement, which was described as "comprehensive" at the time, was not limited to military arrangements, but also included prisons, the judiciary, civil administration, and political representation, including the settlement of the files of displaced persons, detainees, and the civil rights of the Kurdish community.