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00:00:00returning to rebuild their homes. Their homes anew. Thank you
00:00:04very much, Yazan
00:00:06finding a needle in Al-Bayya, Al-Ikhbariya correspondent. You were with us live from
00:00:09Damascus countryside. We remain in the same context and now
00:00:13welcome our guest, Engineer Ali Hamish, Director
00:00:16of the Rubble Removal Project in Damascus Countryside Governorate, responsible for
00:00:20the Douma and Darayya areas. Welcome
00:00:23with us, Mr. Ali. So, as we heard from
00:00:29me, meaning it is dangerous to survey the area for Al-Ikhbariya correspondent a short while ago, there is a huge project that is already underway
00:00:31and the goal of it is to benefit from
00:00:35part of the debris from the destruction
00:00:39of the former regime instead of limiting ourselves to simply transporting
00:00:42it outside Damascus countryside. What kind
00:00:45of benefit are we referring
00:01:04we thank you for highlighting a very important project
00:01:07in the reconstruction effort.
00:01:09here. It repeated itself in many Praise be to God, the Lord of the Worlds. Yesterday, Wednesday,
00:01:14at least 6 11/4/2026, the rubble removal campaign in Al-Zabadani
00:01:17was launched. And
00:01:20the production of building materials from the rubble recycling unit in Darayya
00:01:23was also launched. Praise be to God, the rubble recycling
00:01:27unit in Darayya was established with generous support
00:01:30from King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center.
00:01:33The project consists of four
00:01:36stages. We have الحمد لله reached the final stage, which is the production
00:01:40Qader, despite this growth, of building materials that contribute to reconstruction. Of course,
00:01:43the production of building materials from
00:01:47rubble is considered
00:01:49a difficult and arduous
00:01:52task, and few countries have, to be honest,
00:01:55adopted this approach. And praise be to God, we have established a
00:02:01mobile unit. Once we finish with
00:02:05Darayya, we will move to other
00:02:08affected cities
00:02:11due to
00:02:14of the crop. Despite this the war waged by the criminal regime on the Syrian people. Praise be to God, this is the advantage
00:02:16of the rubble recycling unit. It is not
00:02:19and have an impact on the available in many countries, meaning that we have established a rubble
00:02:22recycling unit that can be transported from one site to another, instead of
00:02:26transporting the rubble outside the cities, outside the
00:02:30outside the neighborhood, and then recycling it and bringing it back to benefit from it.
00:02:34We recycle the rubble within the site
00:02:37six tons per hectare of and produce materials and use building areas. This was reflected materials
00:02:40You mentioned that there is an increase in such
00:02:42cultivated areas and an increase in as pavement, interlocking concrete pavement
00:02:45for sidewalks, building blocks, road medians.
00:02:49Praise be to God, materials for paving
00:02:52road layers have been produced, materials for sewage lines have been produced, materials
00:02:56for
00:02:59the level of benefit from this water lines and electricity network. Welcome back,
00:03:02Engineer Ali, and we thank your efforts at the beginning for
00:03:06the efforts that you are making in the countryside
00:03:09of Idlib and in all Syrian areas and in the countryside of Damascus, and we are talking about this
00:03:13project. You spoke about
00:03:15of the planned areas, multiple stages for the rubble removal project and even
00:03:20and security measures and the ordnance removal the operations of rubble recycling in
00:03:23Darayya. Is there a timeline initially
00:03:27that is being worked on for all
00:03:30the rubble and to start the recycling
00:03:32process?
00:03:35We hope that in Darayya, God willing, by
00:03:38December 31st, meaning approximately after 60 days, we will have completed
00:03:42the rubble recycling process in Darayya
00:03:44sector. This and the production of materials, God willing. After December 31st, God
00:03:48willing, there is an ambition in the Ministry
00:03:51reliance on of Emergency and Disaster Management, God willing, to generalize this experience
00:03:54to all Syrian governorates throughout
00:03:58file, we are joined here in the imports. To beloved Syrian territories. expand further and shed light on this
00:04:00And God willing, in all affected areas of rural Damascus,
00:04:07we ask about this the rubble removal operations in meaning rural Damascus is considered one of the areas with the highest damage, a red zone, meaning it is considered
00:04:10almost destroyed,
00:04:13in terms of
00:04:17the presence of rubble and buildings. So, God willing, this step
00:04:22God give you health, thank you for will be generalized to the rest of the areas. We have Jobar neighborhood, we
00:04:25have Al-Qaboun, we have the Eastern Ghouta
00:04:29of rural Damascus. Douma, the Douma area and its surroundings,
00:04:32one of the crops that are included and we have Wadi Barada, we have
00:04:35meaning we have Al-Hajar Al-Aswad. God willing, this experience will be beneficial
00:04:40in for us in rural Damascus completely and throughout the Syrian territories, God
00:04:45farmers believe that this willing. Mr. Ali, you spoke about steps
00:04:48and the possibility of generalization, as you mentioned a little while ago, for
00:04:53do you deal with this this step that you have already started in rural Damascus, and there were parallel
00:04:55steps in Aleppo. But when we talk about the specificity
00:04:59of the region and the massive destruction in the capital's countryside,
00:05:02because it was targeted number
00:05:05one by the regime, how do you deal with it on
00:05:09a daily basis, or what are the priorities for removing this rubble?
00:05:12And transporting it, and then comes
00:05:15the role of
00:05:17recycling.
00:05:20God bless you, Miss, for your question. We consider rubble removal
00:05:24to be a dangerous task. The first stage
00:05:28of rubble removal is to survey the targeted area
00:05:31for traces of ammunition
00:05:34and war remnants. So, I must have a specialized team to
00:05:39unexploded ordnance and secure the area. This is the first
00:05:43stage. The second stage is to start
00:05:47sorting. There is rubble that can be recycled and rubble that cannot be recycled.
00:05:50I will have to conduct a field sorting at the site
00:05:54and transport the non-recyclable part to landfills in coordination with the local
00:05:57councils in the cities. Then, the recyclable part
00:06:00will be transported to the rubble recycling unit. Once
00:06:04it reaches the rubble recycling unit, the integrated
00:06:07economic cycle begins, which starts with crushing,
00:06:10then sorting, then cleaning from waste,
00:06:14plastic, and byproducts. Then
00:06:17the distribution of materials begins according to each product
00:06:20we produce from the recycled materials, God willing.
00:06:23Oh. Okay, how much do you estimate
00:06:27the total amount of rubble,
00:06:30Engineer Ali, based on your preliminary study in the
00:06:34Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management,
00:06:37located in rural Damascus, or perhaps concentrated in
00:06:41some cities, and which are the most affected? Some
00:06:44people ask, based on our
00:06:48study and field survey across all Syrian
00:06:51territories, the rubble, according
00:06:54to UN documents, is estimated to be between 40 and 50 million
00:06:58cubic meters. This is a huge number globally. We have
00:07:01rural Damascus as one of the
00:07:05affected red zones. We have part of Homs city
00:07:08within the red zone. We have Deir ez-Zor city within the red zone.
00:07:12We have the southern Idlib countryside within
00:07:15the red zone, and some areas in the Aleppo countryside within the red zone. The red zone
00:07:19means that the area is almost destroyed. Therefore,
00:07:23we have quantities of rubble
00:07:27between 40 and 50 million. This is an initial estimate, but through
00:07:30our field work and survey, the numbers will be much
00:07:34larger because when we estimate a site and survey it, the site
00:07:38is estimated, for example, at
00:07:4120,000. This street, we remove 2,000, our displaced people
00:07:43start returning to their homes, and another 20,000 comes out of the houses,
00:07:47as if the road we cleared of rubble is still full.
00:07:50Therefore, the rubble in Syria is
00:07:54a huge burden, and God willing, the first steps have begun
00:07:57and there is a plan, God willing,
00:08:01that within the next few years, the rubble will be removed and recycled
00:08:04through a national plan developed by the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster
00:08:08Management. Since we are talking, Mr. Ali, about a national plan,
00:08:13and red zones with priority,
00:08:15and stages, what is the second stage
00:08:19that is expected to be taken
00:08:22whether in terms of a specific geographical area in rural Damascus
00:08:25or more broadly when you mentioned all these
00:08:28points? We hope that the areas currently
00:08:32within the
00:08:36rubble removal project in Damascus with the support of King
00:08:39Salman Center were initially targeting Douma and Darayya.
00:08:43And thankfully, Al-Zabadani has been added in the second stage.
00:08:46Now, God willing, the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management
00:08:49is generalizing the experience to the
00:08:53most necessary areas, which are Jobar, Al-Qaboun,
00:08:57part of Douma, Arbin, and Zamalka, in addition to Wadi
00:09:00Barada and Al-Hajar Al-Aswad, which is considered a red zone
00:09:03similar to Darayya and Douma. God willing,
00:09:07the next important work now is that the work, God willing, will cover every
00:09:10square meter of Syrian territory. But, as you mentioned, Miss, there are priorities.
00:09:14Now, the areas I mentioned that have priority or the
00:09:17red color in the needs assessment, God willing, will
00:09:21be the next target for rubble removal and recycling.
00:09:25Uh-huh. Okay, Engineer Ali, in addition to your commendable
00:09:28efforts, which Syrians always appreciate,
00:09:31and everything you do,
00:09:34some people today ask, we are now on the eve of the second anniversary
00:09:38of the country's liberation. Why all this delay in
00:09:41removing the rubble from all
00:09:48and with all sincerity, God willing, please,
00:09:51the Syrian Civil Defense before liberation and the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster
00:09:55Management after liberation
00:09:59started removing rubble from the first day of liberation. We were removing
00:10:03rubble in northern Syria even before liberation, and
00:10:07tens of thousands of cubic meters have been removed
00:10:10so far, close to 6 million
00:10:13cubic meters. But, sir, the work is huge.
00:10:17For example, when I started in Darayya, we conducted
00:10:21the initial survey with the help of the local council and the local
00:10:25organization. We chose a neighborhood to give you a simple example, with your permission.
00:10:28Please. Because the file is very complex
00:10:32and... I preempted the discussion by thanking
00:10:35your efforts, because many neighborhoods have had rubble removed more
00:10:39than once because of what the residents do, cleaning
00:10:42their homes and removing rubble from their homes and putting it in the streets. Please.
00:10:45That's right, that's right. So that our viewers understand and know
00:10:49the enormous amount of work we are doing. In the neighborhoods of Al-Jam'iyat,
00:10:52during my geographic survey, I needed to remove
00:10:5616,000 cubic meters. Sir,
00:10:59I removed 16,000 cubic meters. Of course,
00:11:03thank God, there is documentation before removal, during
00:11:06removal, and after removal. After we removed it, we moved to another
00:11:10site. After
00:11:13the site, and my technical colleagues in the field told
00:11:17me, "Sir, the site looks like it hasn't been touched."
00:11:20The street was full again. That's right. We started and removed it for the second time.
00:11:24To be honest,
00:11:27this scenario is repeating itself. It repeated itself in the eastern neighborhoods
00:11:31of Aleppo. It repeated itself areas in the countryside
00:11:35of Idlib and in the countryside of Ma'arat al-Nu'man in Idlib. It repeated itself in more
00:11:39than one location. So, we cannot reach zero rubble
00:11:42except after a period of time, after
00:11:46all our people return, because sometimes 40% of the neighborhood returns.
00:11:49After two months, 50 families returned. The 50 families
00:11:52went to their homes and put it in the street. They moved it
00:11:56to the street. A quantity almost
00:11:59equal to the quantity we removed. Thank God,
00:12:02the train is moving and has started, and God willing, it will cover all
00:12:05Syrian territories, and there are great efforts, God willing,
00:12:09being made in this field. Part of it appears in the media, part of it doesn't, but God willing,
00:12:13through your esteemed screen,
00:12:15we reassure all our people in Syria that all
00:12:19the rubble will be removed, God
00:12:22willing. Okay, Mr. Ali, you mentioned that some efforts
00:12:26appear in the media and some
00:12:28do not. Through Al-Ikhbariya platform, what
00:12:32are the efforts that you are trying
00:12:36to highlight, especially since you work with a team spirit,
00:12:39and what are the other entities that cooperate
00:12:44ground?
00:12:47You know, madam, some efforts, for example, are visible
00:12:51to our
00:12:53partners in the work, the municipality, or the local
00:12:56authorities. There are efforts that are not visible
00:12:59to the public. These are efforts such as our surveying
00:13:03work to remove ordnance.
00:13:05This is a daily effort, daily, daily. In the area,
00:13:09the trucks and heavy machinery
00:13:11removed one cubic meter, but there must be
00:13:15strenuous efforts from the ordnance removal team.
00:13:18This means that the project's duration, for example, is 60
00:13:22days, but their work continues throughout the project. Every day,
00:13:26every day, or for example, in the Darayya
00:13:29project, we faced four
00:13:33cases of four shells
00:13:35with three projectiles
00:13:39that were removed. This could have caused a disaster, but
00:13:42thanks to the adoption of safety
00:13:45team, this part is not highlighted much
00:13:49in the media, but thank God, this is an essential part, and we thank, through your
00:13:52esteemed screen, the unexploded ordnance
00:13:55removal team at the Ministry of Disaster and Emergency Management.
00:13:59So, thank God, no problems occurred
00:14:02and the first stage was completed
00:14:06safely, and God willing, the second stage has begun, and the production of materials
00:14:09will continue for the remaining 60 days of the project, God willing, and will be completed safely,
00:14:13God willing. And we always thank your efforts, Engineer Ali.
00:14:16Well, some people ask about the cadres that
00:14:19you are employing and who are working on
00:14:23the rubble recycling unit in Darayya or even
00:14:29Zabadani. Do you face a problem with the number
00:14:32of working cadres, engineer?
00:14:36Of course, sir, dealing with rubble
00:14:39and removing it requires accumulated experience. It is not
00:14:43just a certificate or a specialized study. It requires
00:14:46academic certificates, but it also requires people
00:14:50and individuals, experts in dealing with rubble, because
00:14:53rubble has significant challenges. It involves the issue of ownership,
00:14:57which is a big challenge. You have to preserve people's
00:15:00property in collapsed buildings
00:15:03or buildings that are about to be demolished.
00:15:06This is very important when it comes to
00:15:10ownership. We have the challenge of safety
00:15:12and security. Therefore, we have the challenge of
00:15:16technical expertise in determining which rubble can be recycled
00:15:19and which cannot. For example, if I
00:15:23take
00:15:26two cubic meters that cannot be recycled from 100 cubic meters,
00:15:29then I have spoiled the 100 cubic meters,
00:15:33because removing these two cubic meters when they are part of 100
00:15:37cubic meters,
00:15:39two cubic meters that cannot be recycled from 200, it becomes like
00:15:44a haystack, as they say. Therefore, it requires
00:15:47great technical expertise so that only recyclable rubble goes to the rubble
00:15:51recycling unit, because any
00:15:53chemical materials, soil, plastic
00:15:56waste,
00:15:58some hazardous materials, batteries, if they go to
00:16:02the recycling unit, it is first dangerous and causes
00:16:06safety,
00:16:11and a large part of the materials are disposed of. Therefore, thank God,
00:16:14the Ministry of Disaster Management, through the previous
00:16:17years, before liberation and the work
00:16:21after liberation, we now have a team, thank God, that has accumulated
00:16:24experience in removing and transporting rubble and recycling
00:16:28it. We wish safety to all Civil Defense volunteers
00:16:31and also to the members of the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster
00:16:36the bottom of our hearts for your efforts, Engineer Ali Al-Hamish, Director of the Rubble Removal Project in
00:16:40Damascus Countryside Governorate, for the areas of Douma
00:16:43and Darayya. You were with us live from
00:17:02in Syria recorded a significant increase this year,
00:17:06with an increase of 42%
00:17:09compared to last year, indicating
00:17:12an improvement in local production. Yes, Abdel
00:17:17production still covers only half of the country's
00:17:20needs, amid efforts to increase productivity
00:17:23and challenges related to the availability of irrigation water
00:17:26and climate
00:17:27change.
00:17:31Yellow corn production in Syria witnessed a remarkable
00:17:34increase during the current year, recording
00:17:37an increase of 42%
00:17:40compared to last year, reaching about
00:17:43475
00:17:46tons, thus covering half of the country's needs
00:17:51improvement, the challenges of water resources
00:17:54and increasing productivity remain
00:17:57crucial factors facing agricultural expansion plans
00:18:01and enhancing local production. According to data from the Ministry
00:18:04of Agriculture, the cultivated areas reached about
00:18:0784 thousand hectares with an average
00:18:11productivity of approximately
00:18:14hybrid varieties, while the agricultural plan
00:18:18aimed to cultivate 97 thousand
00:18:20hectares and produce
00:18:23551
00:18:26tons. Data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
00:18:30Nations (FAO) indicates that Syria's production
00:18:33of yellow corn reached approximately 3,000
00:18:39tons in 2024,
00:18:42which reflects a development in the volume of production during the recent
00:18:45period. Raqqa leads the crop cultivation areas
00:18:48with 35%
00:18:52followed by Aleppo with 34%,
00:18:55then Deir ez-Zor with 16%. The
00:18:58Ministry seeks to raise the productivity
00:19:02per hectare to seven tons through expanding the use of
00:19:05improved varieties and developing breeding
00:19:09and hybridization programs. Despite the recorded improvement, the availability
00:19:13of irrigation water remains one of the most prominent challenges facing agricultural
00:19:16expansion in light of climate change, which
00:19:19necessitates continuous coordination between the concerned authorities
00:19:23to ensure sustainable production and enhance food
00:19:26security and reduce
00:19:35the studio by Professor Maher Al-Duqq,
00:19:38Director of Plant Production at the Ministry of Agriculture. Welcome, Professor
00:19:42Maher. So,
00:19:45crop, which some describe as strategic
00:19:48and of high value
00:19:59hosting me. Regarding
00:20:02corn,
00:20:04especially yellow corn, it is considered
00:20:10in feed mixtures. Uh-huh. So,
00:20:13when we talk about the poultry sector, a feed mixture for poultry
00:20:16contains between five,
00:20:19550 kilograms to 650 kilograms
00:20:22per ton, meaning approximately 55% to 65%
00:20:26of the feed mixture for
00:20:30poultry, as well as for
00:20:33cattle. Uh-huh.
00:20:36So, corn
00:20:40as a crop is, for us, one of the most important
00:20:43fodder crops, one of the most important fodder crops,
00:20:46especially in supporting the livestock sector, whether
00:20:50it is poultry or
00:20:5842%, according
00:21:01to the reports, compared to last
00:21:04year. What
00:21:07caused this
00:21:10increase? Uh-huh.
00:21:12First of all,
00:21:15frankly, the most important thing is the return
00:21:19of state control to the eastern regions in Syria. When we talk
00:21:22about the eastern regions, they are Syria's food basket.
00:21:26Hasakah, Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa are the ones who plant
00:21:30corn in those areas. Of course, when we talk
00:21:33in the report, Raqqa is almost 75%, meaning
00:21:37of Syria's crop. Uh, we took 35%
00:21:42year. Right. Uh-huh. This is number one.
00:21:46So, the cultivated areas increased, and praise be to God. The second
00:21:49thing is the opening of roads between
00:21:52the governorates, which enabled the introduction of hybrid and improved varieties to those
00:21:55eastern areas. These varieties, compared to local varieties,
00:21:58have high productivity. We are not talking about hybrid varieties, we are talking about
00:22:04tons per hectare, possibly up to ten,
00:22:07compared to local varieties, which are much
00:22:10less than that. The second thing is the interest
00:22:14due to the Syrian
00:22:16need for it. We buy it with foreign currency, we import
00:22:20it usually, so this gives it a high
00:22:24price. The farmer has recently
00:22:28started cultivating it and expanding
00:22:31cultivation, in addition
00:22:33to the
00:22:35Ministry of Agriculture's interest in the eastern regions and including
00:22:38them in the annual
00:22:41plans, also led to increasing
00:22:44the areas. The second
00:22:47thing, frankly, is the weather
00:22:53conditions that occurred this year, whether
00:22:55it was good rainfall or whether
00:22:59there were no high temperatures
00:23:02compared to last
00:23:05year. We are in this period, which is the period
00:23:09of, let's say, pollination. High
00:23:12temperatures above, let's say, 35-38 degrees
00:23:15cause pollination failure, and ultimately low
00:23:18productivity. This year, thank God, the conditions
00:23:21were favorable. It was a good year, wide
00:23:26in productivity.
00:23:32demand from farmers,
00:23:35and therefore raising the level of production of this strategic
00:23:38crop will reflect not only on the agricultural sector, but
00:23:41on several sectors. What are the most prominent of these sectors
00:23:45and how can
00:23:49product be raised? First of all, when we talk
00:23:52about corn, it is a processing crop used
00:23:55as an industrial crop, whether it is crops like
00:23:59we mentioned in feed mixtures, which are reflected in the livestock sector,
00:24:03whether it is poultry, whether it is ruminants, or
00:24:06whether it is an oil crop,
00:24:09as one of the industrial oil crops. In Syria,
00:24:13we have not yet fully utilized it
00:24:17as an oil crop. It is still within the feed
00:24:20scope, frankly. Right.
00:24:24The second thing is that our local
00:24:27production will reduce production costs in the poultry
00:24:30sector and production costs in the ruminant
00:24:34will reflect on
00:24:37the livelihood
00:24:39of the Syrian citizen. When we provide low-cost
00:24:43animal production inputs, we will ultimately
00:24:46get a lower price for white meat and red meat.
00:24:50For milk and eggs. Uh-huh.
00:24:53As sectors, in addition,
00:24:56we, frankly, the more we produce locally,
00:25:00the more we reduce the need and, let's say,
00:25:04the gaps. This in turn saves foreign currency
00:25:07for the Syrian Arab Republic,
00:25:10so that we can, as much as possible,
00:25:14adjust the balance of imports
00:25:17and exports. We will discuss this in more detail.
00:25:21Mr. Maher, you mentioned earlier the changes
00:25:24that the weather has witnessed in Syria, whether in terms of rain or
00:25:27even low temperatures
00:25:30summer. Some
00:25:35weather imposes perhaps unfavorable
00:25:39conditions for their crops. How
00:25:43climate change to ensure
00:25:46the stability of agricultural seasons in general? Yes.
00:25:50Basically, within the Ministry's
00:25:54plans, we are always looking for
00:25:57varieties that are called climate-smart,
00:26:00meaning, let's say,
00:26:03they suit environmental needs
00:26:06in terms of water. We are always looking for varieties that require
00:26:09less water. We are looking
00:26:13for varieties that are suitable for the climate.
00:26:16We work to introduce them. In addition,
00:26:20the Ministry of Agriculture has
00:26:23an agricultural research body
00:26:27that works to improve local
00:26:30varieties that are suitable. So, there are
00:26:33extensive studies that you are conducting
00:26:35on the agricultural file. But, when
00:26:39we talk about agricultural research, we are talking about approximately 5,000
00:26:42professors, meaning doctors in agriculture who are
00:26:45in the authority, but their specialization is only research and agricultural
00:26:49sciences. So, within the Ministry, they study everything:
00:26:52weather, rain, temperature, everything.
00:26:55And its impact on agriculture. When we talk about
00:26:59the agricultural research
00:27:02institution, currently led by Dr. Yassin Naasan, with
00:27:06a staff of approximately 5,000 professors,
00:27:09doctors, all their work
00:27:13is focused on applied research
00:27:16studies, not just academic. Our goal is not
00:27:20to bring in research and publish it, like
00:27:23scientific research that may be affiliated with the Ministry of Higher Education. No, agricultural
00:27:27research is applied research. We have
00:27:30needs that we need to study. We harness
00:27:33all the expertise and all the academic
00:27:36knowledge that our colleagues have
00:27:40to address these needs.
00:27:43Well, Mr. Maher, these applied research
00:27:47Is it focused on specific crops because you mentioned huge numbers
00:27:50for the followers of these researches, and they are scientific
00:27:54figures, and therefore what are the most prominent
00:27:58applied projects that have already targeted perhaps specific crops or
00:28:01even specific areas in Syria today?
00:28:05Okay, well the agricultural
00:28:08research body has
00:28:12its programs that honestly study
00:28:15anything related to the needs of the Syrian market
00:28:19or Syrian agriculture from strategic
00:28:22crops like wheat, barley, corn,
00:28:25cotton, in addition
00:28:28to projects concerning
00:28:32early warning weather.
00:28:36Anything that the
00:28:38Ministry of Agriculture
00:28:42might face in terms of needs transfers its files
00:28:45to agricultural research for study in academic files, even
00:28:49the study of varieties. Any hybrid
00:28:52variety that must be introduced to Syria is not introduced directly.
00:28:55It is introduced through research, and
00:28:58experiments are conducted on it for at least
00:29:02two seasons. Then, based on the results of agricultural
00:29:06research, a decision is made to introduce it or
00:29:10not introduce it, because you know that sometimes, even if it has high productivity, it might be a heavy
00:29:14water consumer, it might be sensitive to some insects and diseases
00:29:17present in Syria, sensitive to certain
00:29:21temperatures, etc. So, they are honestly
00:29:23the scientific advisory body that
00:29:27provides
00:29:31advice regarding the matter, and based on that,
00:29:34a decision is made to introduce any variety or not introduce it, or
00:29:38they also have a role in developing new varieties
00:29:41and improving them. Aha. Well, as
00:29:43they say, Professor Maher, an ounce of prevention is worth
00:29:47a pound of cure. I want to ask you about the
00:29:50perhaps guidance workshops and the field work that he does.