Syrian Accession to the World Trade Organization

The FAO, in the person of Mr Mc Clatchy, international expert, supported by the NAPC, has gathered and prepared further relevant information in order to assist Syria in following up its request of accession to the WTO. It appears that the country will not have to significantly alter its existing agro food policies as result of a potential accession to the Organization but rather to adjust some of them.

Farming Systems

NAPC carried out a Farming Systems Study (FSS) with a team of six of its professional staff supported by a national and an international consultant. The study, which documented six main broad farming systems across Syria, was mainly based on primary data, collected in the field through Rapid Appraisal Methods and Interviews.

Comparative Advantages

A study on “Systematic Analysis of the Comparative Advantage of Syrian Agricultural Products” was conducted by the NAPC in cooperation with CIRAD. The commodity chains studied relate to cotton, wheat, tomato, fresh orange, cow milk, beef meat, and olive oil.

Agricultural Policy Monitoring

The NAPC established a Task Force for Policy Monitoring undertaking a review of the content of GAFTA and an analysis of its impacts. By identifying critical factors that affect the policy implementation process, the Center intends to provide a prompt feedback to policy makers, in order to enable them to make early adjustments of policy design and implementation.

Agricultural Subsidies in Syria

The Syrian Minister of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform requested NAPC to contribute to the assessment of the compatibility of its agricultural subsidy programs with the WTO. NAPC referred to the FAO Project GCP/SYR/006/ITA, to receive the assistance of international expertise in developing and assessing options for subsidization of agriculture consistent with WTO regulations.

Export Promotion to EU Markets

The policy study “Opportunities for Syrian fruit and vegetable exports in the EU market” presents the main results of a research study undertaken by the National Agricultural Policy Centre, with the support of Mr J. Coque, aiming at presenting detailed information on the penetration of Syrian exports of fruit and vegetables in the EU markets.