Storyboard

Pistachio...Syria's "golden" crop has lost its luster

picture

Returning to their orchards after a years-long war, the hopes of Syrian pistachio farmers who had hoped to revive their precious crop have been dashed by burning trees and damage from climate change.

The pistachio tree, adorned with bunches of chestnut-colored grains harvested in summer, is known as a "golden tree in poor soil", reflecting the value of this crop that has long been exported across the Middle East and Europe.

Farmer Nayef Ibrahim, who and his family members left their farms in 2011 and returned in 2019, said that farmers near the village of Ma’an in northwest Syria harvest a quarter of the harvest they were collecting before the outbreak of the war.

He pointed out that they found pistachio trees cut or burned due to the conflict, and that the new trees they planted take up to 12 years to bear fruit.

He added that reaping a bountiful harvest from his farm will likely take longer, in light of the slowdown in recovery due to "the lack of rain, with climate change completely, with the lack of basic materials that the farmer needs, such as fertilizers, medicines and pesticides."

Syria experienced its worst drought in more than 70 years in 2021, with crops across the country severely damaged, according to the International Rescue Committee.

"I need fertilizer," Ibrahim said. "There is nothing.

I need water, there is none.”

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news