Second Phase of Agricultural School Rehabilitation Begins in Idlib
The Syria Recovery Trust Fund (SRTF), in coordination with the Idlib Agriculture Directorate, has launched the second phase of a project to rehabilitate and restore the Agricultural High School in the city of Jisr al-Shughur, located in the western countryside of Idlib. This development follows the successful completion of the project’s first phase, which focused on the clearance of rubble and debris from the site.
Engineer Radwan Rifat Akrama, head of the Jisr al-Shughur Agriculture Department, explained that the school, which was established in 2008, suffered extensive damage over the last decade. The facility was converted into a military barracks in 2011 before being heavily damaged by airstrikes in 2015. Akrama emphasized the strategic importance of the project, noting that the area serves as a critical agricultural hub with a natural connection to the Ghab Plain. The region encompasses approximately 300,000 dunams of agricultural land—comprising 50,000 irrigated dunams and 250,000 rain-fed dunams—in addition to sustaining roughly 2.5 million olive trees.
According to the project organizers, the initiative aims to provide the local market with trained young technical professionals. The school offers a three-year educational program and reserves placement spots for top-performing students to continue their studies in faculties of agricultural engineering. Hani Khabbaz, Director General of the Syria Recovery Trust Fund, stated that the school had been almost entirely destroyed. He noted that the first phase of the work also included the construction of a modern agricultural laboratory in cooperation with the ministries of agriculture and energy. The second phase will involve interior finishing, plumbing, ceramic installations, and the procurement of necessary equipment to ensure the facility serves as a specialized educational model, as it is the only institution of its kind in the region.
Bashir Bakri, a former administrator at the school, noted that the institution previously accommodated approximately 400 male and female students across its agricultural and veterinary departments. He estimated that the destruction ranged between 70 and 80 percent, leaving little more than the structural frame intact. Bakri added that the school’s rehabilitation is a vital service, particularly because the nearest agricultural high school is more than 50 kilometers away, which had created a significant barrier for students pursuing education in this sector.
This project is part of a broader series of plans adopted by the Ministry of Agriculture to restore damaged educational and agricultural facilities in Idlib province. The effort is intended to support community stability and enhance local production by providing the necessary educational and technical infrastructure for the region’s agricultural development.
Source: Syria Focus Arabic
