Syria: Ray of hope for drought-affected farmers
While severe drought in eastern and northeastern Syria is seriously affecting lives and livelihoods, [http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=88139] farmers may draw some hope and comfort from an irrigation success story in the central district of Salamieh. An experimental drip irrigation project run by the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (RSP) in the village of Fraytan (17 farmers) in 2003, has spread to 52 villages today. The drip irrigation systems are operational for 5-10 years, resulting in more profits for farmers long after the systems have been installed and paid for. With a drip system, upwards of 90 percent of the water is used by the plant, while with surface irrigation this rate drops below 60 percent. The farmers used about 30 percent less water this year to grow their summer vegetables and the collective adoption of new technologies resulted in increased yields of nearly 60 percent, according to the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). Abu Alim, 85, who has been farming the same four hectares of land for over 50 years, said he had experienced other advantages of the drip irrigation system. "Because we are pumping less water to the crops, we are using less diesel and that's good because the cost of this is three times more expensive than two years ago," he said.
Contact information | n/a |
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News type | Inbrief |
File link |
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88750 |
Source of information | IRIN / Reuters and AlertNet |
Keyword(s) | irrigation |
Subject(s) | AGRICULTURE , RISKS AND CLIMATOLOGY |
Relation | http://www.emwis.net/countries/fol749974/sy |
Geographical coverage | Syria |
News date | 21/04/2010 |
Working language(s) | ENGLISH |