The Syrian Future Movement is closely following the announcement issued by the Ministry of Emergency Situations and Disaster Management on Monday, August 10, 2026, regarding the results of the proactive response plan implemented during the 2026 harvest season. This plan aimed to protect agricultural crops and minimize losses from fires and other emergencies.
The plan was based on two main pillars: the national awareness campaign, “Your Awareness is Your Work,” which targeted farmers and agricultural workers, and the proactive field response, which included establishing 115 advanced deployment points, equipping more than 460 firefighting vehicles, and providing teams with 690 workers and 920 tractor drivers on seasonal contracts.
These efforts resulted in responding to 5,095 fires between May 15 and July 5, 2026, with only 939 hectares of crops damaged, compared to approximately 85,000 hectares in the 2019 season – a decrease of 98.9%.
The Syrian Future Movement appreciates these results, which reflect tangible success in implementing a “proactive response” approach to disaster management, and sees three key implications:
First: Shifting from Reaction to Proactive Action – The Syrian Future Movement notes that the Ministry of Emergency Situations has successfully moved from a “firefighting” approach to a “fire prevention” approach through a combination of proactive awareness campaigns, early deployment of teams, and enhanced coordination with local communities.
This reflects an advanced understanding of risk management, aligned with international best practices that emphasize that “every dollar invested in proactive response yields savings of up to seven dollars.”
Second: The Importance of Community Partnerships – We note that the plan’s success would not have been possible without the cooperation of farmers, local stakeholders, and civil society organizations.
The “Your Awareness Through Your Action” campaign exemplified the principle of community participation, which promotes a culture of prevention and shared responsibility.
Third: The potential to build upon success to develop an integrated system – We support the fact that the plan’s final evaluation not only presented positive results but also included practical recommendations to overcome remaining challenges, such as the severe shortage of fire trucks, weak communication networks, and the need to improve some agricultural roads.
This reflects an institutional methodology based on continuous learning and development.
In this context, the Syrian Future Movement reiterates its consistent positions, published on its official website, which emphasize the priority of food security and a preventative approach to crisis management:
- Statement on “Supporting the Agricultural Sector and Farmers” (dated August 10, 2026): This statement commended the government’s efforts to support the agricultural sector and stressed the need to transform measures into sustainable policies that ensure the continuity of support for farmers.
- Statement on “Plan to Enhance Safety on Highways” (dated August 5, 2026): This statement emphasized the importance of transforming emergency measures into sustainable policies, the same principle that applies to the Ministry of Emergency Situations’ experience in protecting the agricultural season.
However, the Syrian Future Movement believes that sustaining this success requires addressing several challenges and opportunities:
- The challenge of modernizing the fleet and equipment: Despite the success, the assessment indicates a “severe shortage of fire trucks and some specialized equipment.”
This necessitates a genuine investment in upgrading physical capabilities to ensure the teams’ ability to withstand potentially more challenging seasons in the future. - The challenge of developing communication systems: Weak communication networks in some agricultural areas could affect response times in the future.
We believe that investing in communication infrastructure is an investment in the safety of citizens and their crops. - An opportunity to benefit from international experiences: We note that the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) promotes innovative mechanisms such as the “Financing Facility for Food Crises Resulting from Shocks,” which relies on proactive action and blended financing. We see these mechanisms as an opportunity to strengthen Syria’s capabilities in preventing agricultural disasters, especially given the emphasis that “every dollar invested in proactive response yields savings of up to seven dollars.”
- An opportunity to expand the proactive approach: Building on the success of the harvest season experience, a similar approach can be applied to other sectors facing seasonal risks, such as floods or droughts, thereby enhancing food security and public safety.
Based on its national responsibility to monitor the state-building process, the Syrian Future Movement recommends the following:
- Updating the firefighting fleet and specialized equipment through a multi-year investment plan, in coordination with the Ministries of Finance and Agriculture, to secure the necessary vehicles and equipment, and to leverage available international grants and technical support.
- Developing communication and early warning systems in agricultural areas and linking them to a central operations room to ensure rapid response and minimize time to reach fire sites.
- Strengthening awareness and training programs to include all categories of farmers and agricultural workers, focusing on safe harvesting practices and drawing on successful international experiences in this field.
- Improving agricultural road infrastructure to facilitate access for emergency teams to remote areas, and collaborating with the Ministries of Local Administration and Public Works in this regard.
- Utilizing international financing mechanisms, such as the facility promoted by the FAO, to provide sustainable funding for proactive action in addressing agricultural crises.
The Syrian Future Movement commends the Ministry of Emergency Situations for its success in protecting the agricultural season, viewing it as a promising model for institutional work based on prevention and proactive preparedness.
It reiterates that food security is a shared national responsibility, and that investing in prevention is an investment in Syria’s agricultural and economic future.
The Syrian Future Movement emphasizes that sustaining this success requires political will to translate the lessons learned into lasting policies and to provide the necessary resources for developing an integrated system for preventing agricultural disasters.
For its part, the Syrian Future Movement will remain a supporter of all efforts that enhance agricultural security.
My food and preventive approach, critical of everything that hinders the achievement of sustainable agricultural development, monitoring everything that is accomplished on the ground, striving for a new Syria in which the citizen and the crop are safe from disasters.
