Agriculture in Syria and the Euphrates
Syria, Agriculture, 3/26/1999

During the past development plan periods in Syria, between 60 and 70 percent of public investments in agriculture were allocated to irrigation development. Much of this was aimed at infrastructure development for irrigation expansion in the Euphrates Basin, using the additional water available through the construction of the Tabaqa dam and the establishment of al-Assad Lake (reservoir).

Syria's long-term potential for irrigation expansion, in physical terms, is estimated at about 300,000 hectares gross, over the above present gross area under irrigation of some 690,000 hectares.

However, unit costs of irrigation expansion have increased considerably in the past 10-20 years. This is one of the reasons why, since the early 1970's attention is also being given to drainage and irrigation rehabilitation, mainly in the Euphrates Valley, where irrigation through pumping from the river has developed rapidly since the 1950s.

Crop yield in this area subsequently started to decline and some land was later abandoned due to increasing salinization caused by the absence of adequate drainage, in particular in the lower valley.

Moreover, irrigation expansion is under way through the construction of a reservoir on the Kahbour river north of al-Hassaka province, while an irrigation scheme based on pumping from the Tigris river is being planned for the northeastern corner of the country. Irrigation expansion is also planned and partly under construction based on pumping from al-Assad Lake to the Maskaneh West and Aleppo areas.

The Maskeneh West project has been completed. Although the considerable lift needed for these areas would be more costly than gravity irrigation downstream from the reservoir, the Maskaneh and Aleppo areas reportedly have the advantage of better soils and an already-settled agricultural population on the part of the land.

Important irrigation developments have been initiated in the coastal plain, starting with the Lattakia area where the potential for high-value crops such as citrus would ensure a relatively quick return on investments. Gravity irrigation development is also planned in the Tartous area, where irrigation now is based on some 600 tube-wells. Seawater intrusion is reported to be a problem in some of the shallow wells close to the coast.

Further improvements are underway to secure some constant water supply for irrigation in the Chab valley, west of Hama. Both constraints seem now to have been resolved and investments are now aimed primarily at increasing water availability for the summer.

One of the more recent constraints is the industrial pollution of the water of the Orentos river by the chemical industry located near Homs. This pollution reportedly has already had an adverse effect on fishery resources in the Qattina reservoir near Homs.

Water resources in the Damascus Basin, the Ghouta, are scattered by heavy demand from the industrial sector and random expansion of the city. This dramatic use of underground water is limiting the possibilities to expand the agricultural plots in the suburb of the capital.

Due to the favorable climatic conditions in the southwest part of the country, irrigation development of the Yarmouk river basin aims at the production of high-value fruits and vegetables. Despite the considerable public investments made for expansion of irrigation in large schemes, an impressive 80% of the total area under irrigation gets its water from open wells.

During recent decades Syria has shown a high population growth rate. The estimation for the middle of 1996 was 16.5 million. Although more than 42% of the population in Syria are living in the rural areas, most of the labor forces around big cities are involved in jobs other than farming. The total available labor force in 1996 was estimated at 5.7 million.

In this fiscal year 28.6% of the labor force was active in agriculture, followed by the community and personal services sector 21%, converting industries 15.8% internal and external trade 13.8%, building and construction 12.6%.

In the agricultural field the female labor force is three folds of the male. Moreover, 46.1% of the working women are family unpaid labor. This setup has a strong influence in the national and international development projects.

Previous Stories:
  Rainfall and irrigation in Syria   (3/19/1999)
  Agricultural production circumstances in Syria   (2/26/1999)
  Olive trees make Syria one of the largest producer of olive oil   (1/4/1999)

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