The Syrian Ministry of Agriculture and ACSAD/Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform in the Syrian Arab Republic and the Organization of the Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Drylands ACSAD have signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement aimed at the development of the agricultural sector, promoting development sustainability indicators, the development of specialized programmes for the application of modern technologies and the integrated and sustainable management of natural resources, the enhancing of environmental conservation programmes, the development and rehabilitation of specialized human resources for workers in the agricultural sector and the mobilization of funds for the implementation of such projects and activities with the participation of the local population.
The Agreement was signed by the Minister of Agriculture, Engineer Mohamed Hassan Qatna, and by the Arab Centre Organization (ACSAD), Director-General Dr Nasr Obaid, at the Ministry’s headquarters in Damascus today.
In an address on this occasion, Minister Qatna said that the signing of this Agreement was the signing of a full partnership between the Ministry of Agriculture and ACSAD in the agricultural scientific fields, noting that, for the first time, we will prepare a map of optimal land uses in the Syrian Arab Republic, in cooperation with ACSAD long-standing organization in the field of advanced modern science and technology and smart agriculture.
He added the Agreement represented a major qualitative shift with ACSAD Organization in the process of cooperation with the 50-year-long, in order to strengthen that process concerning all activities, projects and sectors related to sustainable agricultural development in the Syrian Arab Republic, the development of scientific and academic agricultural research programmes, the strengthening of applied scientific research programmes to address the problems facing the implementation of planned agricultural programmes and the achievement of increased productivity, efficiency and sustainability.
For his part, the Director-General of the Arab Centre (ACSAD), Dr Nasr Edin Obid, said in a speech that the Agreement was a significant step forward for cooperation between the two sides and aimed at developing programmes and policies to achieving economic productivity at the lowest cost, with competitive comparative advantage and high quality of animal and plant products.
He also clarified this would be by sustainable agriculture development programmes application, smart agriculture programmes, working on administering land uses and resources, the resources, the animal and plant productive assets to achieve the highest efficiency and income by investing it.
The Director-General of ACSAD added that the Agreement was also aimed at consolidating joint efforts and making use of the available substantive, technical, scientific, and material potentials and research stations to each party to achieve the desired goals, in cooperation and coordination with all concerned authorities, cooperating in the establishment of joint scientific and training workshops and seminars, mutual technical support and collaboration on joint initiatives or programmes and emergency situations.
Dr Obaid pointed out that among this agreement goals were the collaboration in organizing the international or local activities or conferences related to scientific research and agricultural products in the Syrian Arab Republic and other common interest topics and preparing the joint reports and guidelines promoting the development of sustainable agriculture.
Its objectives include studies and thorough research on the dissemination and spreading of alternatives to fossil energy (renewable energies: Biogas – Solar – Wind -…), and their applications, preparing of studies of qualitative and pilot economic projects; cooperating and coordinating with governmental and international organizations and community-based associations to implement joint projects and campaigns agreed in this area.
