Baladi News – Hama (Musab al-Ashqar)
Due to its geographic location, fertile soil, and water availability, al-Ghab plain is considered one of the most important breadbaskets for Syria as a whole.
The plain extends between Lattakia Mountains in the west and Zawiya and Shahshabo Mountains in the east, reaching a width of 12 km. It is divided into two halves by Orontes River, where several dams were constructed, including Zeyzoun and Qastun, in order to utilize and store its waters for the consecutive farming seasons.
With the recent advancement of its forces and the capture of a number of villages in al-Ghab plain, the regime, in coordination with the national defense militias in the area, rubbed pumping stations that deliver water from Orontes River to Qastun dam, the life vein of farmlands in the area, which stores about 27 million cubic meters of water. This had very negative impacts on the lives of farmers and it influenced farming in the plain as a whole.
Baladi News interviewed farmer Radwan Khalil, who highlighted the obstacles on farming and the decrease in agricultural production in al-Ghab Plain, saying “The crops in al-Ghab plain have been limited to the ones that do not need very frequent irrigation since 2012 when pumping water from Orontes River to Qastun dam that distributes water to farmlands stopped.”
The speaker added, “This situation did not only impact the lives of farmers, but also the soil itself. The soil lacks its fundamental components, and needs irrigation with large amounts of water.”
In his turn, agronomist Bashar Hassan told Baladi News that a number of crops disappeared in al-Ghab Plain, including sugar beet, tobacco, and corn, because of the lack of water in the dam. The crops are now confined to the summer ones because the dam water do not reach 50,000 cubic meters and there is a spring in the middle of the dam.
Hassan pointed out that the distance between Orontes River and Qastun dam is about 11 km, which makes pumping so difficult. Also, Orontes River is closer to the regime-allied villages, which puts anyone who approaches under the risk of death and complicates pumping water to the dam.
Hassan indicated that the only source of water nowadays is artesian wells that are utilized by some farmers to plant their lands and make a living despite the skyrocketing prices of diesel that reached 450 Syrian Pounds a few months ago. He also called upon international agencies to support agricultural projects in the area and the transitional Syrian government to support al-Ghab plain in order for it to take the lead again in the export of crops in the liberated areas.
It is noteworthy that al-Ghab plain witnessed long struggles between the rebels and Assad’s forces for months, which ended with the control of the majority of the plain by the rebels. However, the area is still threatened with advancement attempts and daily shelling by the regime forces on the towns and villages of the plain.