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Rural poverty approaches, policies and strategies in Syria

The government's strategy to reduce poverty in Syria is set out in the Tenth Five-Year Plan 2006-2010. The plan offers a programme for economic transition towards an open and competitive economy. Its goals are to boost economic growth, increase employment, alleviate poverty and ensure social justice. The government's plan also emphasizes the need to create employment opportunities, particularly for poor people and for unemployed young people.

In the agricultural sector, the plan promotes the development of small and medium-sized enterprises and income-generating activities, and the sustainable use of natural resources to obtain socio-economic benefits and food security. It encourages industrialization and agricultural products being marketed to increase the value added to them. The plan also supports the modernization of production by developing research and extension activities. It does this while emphasizing the need to ensure water security by focusing on the protection and rational use of water.

In addition to IFAD, the government's major partners in agriculture and rural development include other United Nations agencies, regional finance institutions such as the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, OPEC Fund for International Development, and the Italian and Japanese Governments. Germany and the Netherlands are active in the water sector and the European Union provides grants for institution building, private sector development and vocational training.
 

Source: IFAD