Absentee Farmers Seek to Save their Lands in Idlib from Government Auctions

In Announcement No. 276 on April 22, the regime-run Idlib governorate requested that owners of pistachio orchards provide documentation proving their ownership of their lands. The purpose is to exclude these lands from public auctions intended for the investment of lands belonging to forcibly displaced absentee owners for the 2024-2025 season. Notably, this announcement requires farmers to prove ownership of their land, allowing them to personally benefit from and invest in it. Failure to prove ownership means the land will be put up for public auction for others to invest in.

Announcement No. 276 used the term “guarantee” instead of “investment.” In colloquial usage, “guarantee” means that someone buys the crop from the landowner before it is harvested, based on an estimated value. The guarantor then harvests and sells the crop.

It has become customary in recent years for the Idlib and Hama governorates to annually put up the lands of forcibly displaced absentee owners for investment through public auctions. The targeted lands in these auctions are located in areas classified militarily as “stable”, as follows: the first stability zone is closest to the contact lines with the opposition, while the fourth stability zone is farthest from the contact lines and not subject to opposition artillery shelling but is considered a command, control, and training area for regime forces. The lands of forcibly displaced absentee owners outside these zones are not offered for investment by the two governorates.

It has become a tradition to organise auctions for investing in pistachio orchards of absentee and forcibly displaced owners in June each year, followed by auctions for investing in lands planted with olives, almonds, figs, and other fruit trees. Next are auctions for irrigated or rain-fed lands suitable for growing grains, and finally, pastures. Consequently, these auctions now include every piece of land whose owners have been displaced.

Any landowner who wishes to exclude their land from investment through public auctions must prove their ownership. According to Announcement No. 276, the landowner must personally submit a file through the one-stop window at the Idlib Governorate building in Khan Sheikhoun. This file must include a request for exclusion, containing personal information, and details about the property such as its location, number, and area. A copy of the landowner’s personal identification must also be included.

The file must be accompanied by one of the following documents to prove ownership: a recent real estate record statement issued by the Land Record, an inheritance inventory document, a final court ruling, or a certified internal or external power of attorney. The internal, i.e., issued in Syria, or external power of attorney can be a general one, which includes the right to buy and sell property, or a non-revocable special power of attorney, which authorises the buyer to transfer the ownership of the property. Internal powers of attorney must be notarised, while external ones must be certified by a Syrian embassy abroad. In both cases, a prior security approval is required.

In addition to one of the aforementioned ownership documents, the farmer must also attach either a document issued by the local committee responsible for annually inventorying and identifying vacant lands owned by absentees or a physical inspection document issued by a committee from the Agricultural Extension Unit based on the owner’s request. The agricultural regulation notice  can replace the physical inspection document. The purpose of these documents is to prove that the landowner resides in areas under regime control and personally invests in their land. They also help determine the area, type, and specifications of the land, whether it is rain-fed or irrigated, for inclusion in the governorate’s annual agricultural plan.

A farmer currently residing in the regime-controlled part of the Idlib governorate told The Syria Report that he was unable to gather all the required documents to exclude his one-hectare pistachio orchard from public auctions. His land is still owned in common with his siblings, some of whom reside in opposition-controlled areas of Idlib. Any co-owner can file a lawsuit for partition against all partners, who are summoned by the court. If one of the partners is absent, their legal representative must attend on their behalf. However, the power of attorney for the absent partner requires prior security approval, which is difficult to obtain if the absentee resides in opposition-controlled areas. Therefore, the farmer resorts to investing in his land by participating as a second-degree relative in auctions designated for relatives.