SYRIAN AGRI MINISTRY, FAO SIGN AGREEMENT ON FUNDING SMALL INCOME GENERATING PROJECTS http://www.namnewsnetwork.org/v2/read.php?id=167356

Syria's Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform and the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) have signed a document on a women empowerment project to improve food security and nutrition through small income generating projects. The project, which starts next month and ends in August 2013, is within the framework of supporting the national programme for funding small projects with a total cost of SYP 1.5 billion. Minister of Agriculture Riyad Hijab said the agreement provides for funding small projects in the northeastern region with a total cost of USD 343,000. The main aim is to reduce poverty and immigration in that region due to drought.

He added that the government launched 13,000 income generating projects across the Syrian provinces, some of which are aimed at settling rural families in Deir Ezzor, Hasaka and Raqqa, in addition to the rural women empowerment programme. Hijab indicated that the Ministry and FAO recently signed a programme to help families affected by floods in Hasaka. For his part, the FAO Representative in Syria Abdullah Taher Bin Yahya said the project is within the Ministry's five-year plan to build capacities through holding training courses and training 90 staff members at the Women Empowerment Directorate in the Ministry.