Damascus Chamber of Agriculture Symposium: Strategies for Syrian Food Security and Technological Transformation
Damascus Chamber of Agriculture Symposium: Strategies for Syrian Food Security and Technological Transformation
We express our gratitude to the Damascus and Countryside Chamber of Agriculture for organizing this scientific, educational, and enlightening lecture.
Dr. Rasheed Dahni masterfully provided a detailed, precise, and clear analysis regarding the tragedy of wheat, barley, sugar beet, and cotton in Syria. He attributed the root causes to the era of the French mandate, which planned for Syria's ruin. They established cotton farming specifically to deplete the aquifers of Salamiyah and Al-Jazira. Furthermore, tanneries were set up near eastern Damascus at the crossroads of the Barada River, releasing water heavily contaminated with toxins. This led to the destruction of the Damascus Ghouta, which once boasted 35 million apricot trees alone.
He also discussed the systematic dismantling of sugar beet and fodder cultivation, alongside the closure of sugar factories. As a result of disrupting sugar beet farming, we suffered a double loss: animal feed and table sugar. He strongly advocated for the necessity of linking agriculture with national policy, noting how Europe enticed Egypt into cultivating rice at the expense of wheat, which depleted Egypt's water resources and subjected its people to external political conditions.
In addition, Dr. Amjad Ayoub provided a precise scientific commentary on qualitative agricultural investment. He presented global scientific evidence, citing a hydroponic farm in Japan where a single tomato seed produced an astounding 450 tons of tomatoes. He hinted at his own academic thesis, which earned him a degree in this rigorous scientific discipline. If only our Syrian environment could engage with such studies, Syria would transform into gardens of bliss, bountiful crops, honorable dwellings, and a land of prosperity where we would live in abundance.
Finally, we cannot but thank Mr. Mohammad Janan for his excellent selection of these scientific figures, whom the upcoming Syrian cultural scene deeply craves. These scientific experts, associated with the Damascus Chamber of Agriculture, are capable through the light of their vision to enhance Syrian food security and achieve national self-sufficiency
18/5/2026
