The Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform issued Decision No. 63 on May 21 requiring 668 farmers benefiting from the government irrigation network in the southern Aleppo plain to transit to modern irrigation systems, specifically sprinkler and drip irrigation, within three months of the decision date.

The geographical area targeted by this decision represents the first phase of a project aimed at irrigating 3,000 hectares in the southern Aleppo plain. This area covers five villages: Khan Touman, Zitan, Al-Hader, Qalaajiya, and Barna, bordered to the west by the M5 international highway. The region is irrigated by old long irrigation channels drawing water from Lake Assad on the Euphrates River.

If the project to transition to modern irrigation systems, including drip and sprinkler methods, is implemented, water will be pumped through pressurised irrigation networks to the southern Aleppo plain at a rate of 0.7 cubic metres of water per second per hectare of land. Failure to transition to modern irrigation systems will force farmers to continue to use the old irrigation systems currently in place, which result in significant wastage of water or the loss of a substantial portion of pumping energy without achieving the expected yield.

The Law for the Establishment of the National Project Fund for the Transition to Modern Irrigation, No. 10 of 2023, deemed mandatory the transition to modern irrigation mandatory in areas designated by the fund’s board of directors, while it remains optional in non-designated areas. In February, the Ministry of Agriculture issued Decision No. 35, which serves as the executive instructions for Law No. 10 of 2023 and which establishes the National Fund to Finance the National Project for Transition to Modern Irrigation (FFNPTMI).

Law No. 10 of 2023 stipulates that the publication of the ministry’s decision for the transition to modern irrigation in a given area serves as personal notification to the rights holders in the concerned area. The decision must be published in the Official Gazette, on the notice board of the governorate headquarters, the Directorate of Agriculture, the Farmers’ Union in the governorate, branches of the Agricultural Bank, and farmers’ associations. The law does not indicate that the ministry’s decision is subject to appeal, meaning it is final and not subject to review.

Article 1 of Ministry of Agriculture Decision No. 63 includes a list of the 668 beneficiaries of the government irrigation networks in rural southern Aleppo who are required to transition to modern irrigation systems. It details the size of their lands, the main irrigation lines supplying water to their properties, and the available water intake points.

Article 2 specifies the real estate areas covered by the decision and the property numbers required to transition to modern irrigation in those areas. It distinguishes between properties that are fully or partially mandated to switch to modern irrigation systems. Although the decision does not explain why some properties are only partially included, previous statements from ministry officials suggest that this is due to the nature of the land, its terrain, and the readiness of the irrigation infrastructure.

According to Article 3 of Decision No. 63, the branch of the FFNPTMI in the Aleppo governorate is responsible for verifying the names of the beneficiaries, the irrigation lines, the water intake points, and the property numbers when preparing the grants provided to fund the modern irrigation networks.

Under Law No. 10 of 2023, the fund is affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture, based in Damascus, with branches in the governorates, and has a special account in the Agricultural Cooperative Bank. The fund provides grants and loans to beneficiaries to finance the equipment and costs needed to convert their lands to modern irrigation systems.

Article 4 of Ministry of Agriculture Decision No. 63 states that anyone whose land falls within the covered area and who refuses to meet the required obligations will face fines as specified by the applicable laws and their amendments. However, the decision exempts farmers who have valid technical, technological, or legal excuses, provided these are accepted by the fund’s board of directors.

Law No. 10 of 2023 already imposed fines on those whose lands fall within the mandatory transition areas for modern irrigation and who fail to comply with the obligations. The fines start at SYP 50,000 per dunam in the first year and increase to SYP 500,000 by the fifth year. Additionally, those who refuse to implement the transition will face doubled traditional irrigation fees, from SYP 50,000 to SYP 100,000 per hectare of their land.

Under Law No. 10, individuals required to transition to modern irrigation must visit their branch of the FFNPTMI within three months of the ministry’s decision. Those seeking funding must submit an application accompanied by various documents and guarantees, including: an official document specifying the water source for irrigation and a licence allowing water extraction, a real estate record, a land lease contract, or a farming contract, an agricultural regulation document issued by the farmers’ association or Agricultural Extension unit, and a technical study of the irrigation network prepared by the FFNPTMI branch or an approved company.

Beneficiary farmers are eligible to receive funding for irrigation network costs in two parts: a repayable loan covering 70 percent of the costs from the Agricultural Cooperative Bank, and a grant covering 30 percent of the costs from the FFNPTMI. The loan is to be repaid in equal instalments over five years, with the beneficiary paying an eight percent interest rate on the loan value, while the Interest Rate Support Program covers seven percent of the loan’s interest.

In all cases, beneficiaries do not receive the loan and grant in cash. Instead, the fund contracts with private companies to supply the equipment, implement the project, and collect the costs from the Agricultural Cooperative Bank.