A Syrian official comments, in a statement to RT, on the American announcement of sending wheat seeds to northern Syria

The US Embassy in Damascus (which is practically closed) re-published an announcement by an American agency about the imminent arrival of 3,000 metric tons of wheat seeds to the northern Syria region, which used to export wheat classified among the world’s finest.

The announcement raised a number of comments in Syria, most of which questioned the American goals and referred to a number of risks in introducing quantities of wheat seeds into Syria, which recently suffered from securing the country’s need for wheat, while it had maintained a large stock that sufficed the country for years of Syrian wheat classified within the world’s finest.

Commenting on the American announcement, the assistant director of plant protection at the Syrian Ministry of Agriculture, Hazem Al-Zaila, told RT that “the introduction of any quantity of wheat from the American side is illegal, and it includes risks in terms of variety and type, in addition to the possibility of introducing quarantine pests, such as the wheat wart Nematode spread in America, along with many plant diseases, especially bacterial ones."

Al-Zaila explains that the quarantine pests, may have negative repercussions on the country’s economy or one of its regions, and even if it is present in this region, but it is not widely spread and is being officially controlled.

Al-Zayla pointed out that the Ministry had previously been informed of imported wheat entered by brokers through the “#Simalka” crossing from northern #Iraq, as well as the imminent arrival of more quantities from other sources.

He added, “According to international standards, international law, and the Syrian quarantine law, any plant shipment entering the country must be subjected to the plant quarantine law, which aims to prevent the entry of regulated pests. It must be inspected by the authorized technician, and samples must be taken for examination by quarantine centers."

In view of these facts, according to Al-Zaila, “a committee was formed in the Ministry of Agriculture in this regard and stressed the need to instruct the agriculture directorates and media outlets to direct the farmers not to plant any variety of unknown source, and only to plant seeds from the production of the Seed Multiplication Corporation or from the last year's production of the farmer himself, in addition to the mechanical sifting of seeds before planting to get rid of infected seeds.

Al-Zaila pointed out that the committee that was formed suggested “asking the competent authorities to instruct the security authorities to confiscate the illegally entered quantities, and to prevent the transfer of seeds to the interior areas.”