Abstract

Syrian population has been multiplied five times during the last fifty years. This high growth leads to a squeeze on natural resources, and to a need to modernize agriculture. New scientific discoveries have increased the agricultural productivity. Therefor, the ministry of agriculture and agrarian reform established directorates for agricultural scientific research (Cotton office in 1978, Olive office in 1980, Apples office in 1998…). The integrated efforts and the implementation of research results increase significantly Syrian agricultural results (4 million tons of wheat, 1 million tons of cotton, 360 thousand tons for each of the citron fruits and olive). Sheep population in Syria reached 15 million and the surface of exploited lands is 5.5 million hectares (where 3.6 million hectares are irrigated).

The article shows some statistics on the research in the ministry (number of researchers in each directorate, budgets, and laboratories…).

The lecturer presents the principal tasks of scientific research in the ministry of agriculture (as seeking categories characterized by high productivity and good quality, modernizing methods of harvest and irrigation…).

Scientific research in Syria aspires to increase productivity, to improve quality, to lower costs, to preserve agricultural resources. These purposes need the definition of problems, determination of capacities, short medium and long term planning…

Several experiences and researches are carried out in cooperation with Arab and international research centers the as ICARDA. The article lists main researches in different directorates:

1. The directorate of agricultural scientific researches discovered 12 species of hard and soft wheat, 3 species of malt, 2 species of corn valid for different lands….

2. The directorate of lands made analysis, studied erosion in the Badiah, and introduced the geographic information system…

3. The directorate of irrigation and water uses determined best system to irrigate wheat, cotton, and corn….

4. The directorate of cotton office determined best species depending to regions, studied insects, fertilizers and herbicides…

5. The directorate of citron fruits helped in increasing production from 12 tons per hectare in 1978 to 35 tons per hectare in 1999. It introduced new species and elaborated new laboratories for viruses…

6. The directorate of olive studied the olive species in Syria and different diseases…

7. The directorate of apples spreads new species and determined the appropriate kinds for each region….

The results of these researches are reflected in many ways. New species and the improvement of agricultural services (fertilizers, irrigation, and treatment of diseases) have increased substantially the productivity (an increasing of 10 billion SP a year for the wheat). Developing new corn species make savings in import expenses (0.5 billion SP a year). Half of the increasing in cotton production is due to the new species. Concerning the citron fruits, the bio-treatment of white fly saves 0.9 billion SP a year (in addition to the preservation of environment). Integrated treatment against diseases saves money in the agriculture of olive and other fruits and vegetables. Researches were also important to increase the productivity of the Syrian livestock, particularly, lactiferous cows.

Finally, the lecturer presents main ideas in some future technical and administrative projects as the need of more cooperation between universities and agricultural research centers...

In a brief comment on this article, Dr Faysal Hamed mentioned that quality remains absent from current policies. Syria has to know the features of external demand and must focus on quality to compete with other countries. In spite of increasing annual credits, the directorates of agriculture in Syria still need much more money to form the adequate experts and to achieve the appropriate level of scientific research. Finally, he highlights the importance of correct and authentic statistics to reach real research.