Peasants Leaving Farmlands

Peasants and farmers from Al-Hasaka province in north-eastern Syria are leaving their land and communities because of poverty and drought, according to a report published on the news website All4Syria on August 11.



A severe drought which has crippled farming nationwide has hit farmers and peasants in Al-Hasaka particularly hard, according to the report which was originally published by the pro-government business magazine Markets and Stocks.



Peasants and farmers who were land owners in Al-Hasaka are heading to Damascus and Dara, where they work as porters or farm hands for other land owners.



The vice president of the farmers’ union, Theab Al-Karim, said the province wants to see initiatives to help the farmers, and asked for the government to speed up a project to draw water from the Tigris River.



He also said that cotton farming should not be limited, noting that the industry employs about four million people. In an effort to curb water consumption, the agricultural ministry has set aside enough land to plant cotton for domestic use only and will not export cotton. Cotton is Syria’s second-largest export after oil.