The Agricultural Development Centre in Azaz (Northwest Syria) is a facility dedicated to cultivating new plant varieties, testing advanced irrigation, cultivation techniques, and agrochemicals, and providing capacity building to support sustainable farming. The Centre also offers the latest updates on agricultural innovations, practices, and technologies.
Since 2021, the University of Sussex, the NGO Syrian Academic Expertise (SAE) and the Council for At-Risk Academics (Cara) have collaborated on numerous projects focused on knowledge exchange. The outputs and outcomes of these projects have been presented at multiple dissemination events and are summarised on this website.
The inauguration of the Agricultural Development Centre in Azaz marks a significant step forward, initiating a new era dedicated to enhanced extension services and training the next generation of agronomists and agricultural experts.
In November and December 2024, the Centre will host a training course titled Media for Sustainable Development. Sixty agronomists and agricultural engineers will learn to use podcasting and video recording to deliver extension services to farmers, in addition to experimenting modern applications in protected agriculture and hydroponic techniques at the centre.
- Soil health management for improved soil fertility and yields
- Integrated crop disease management
- Seedling production for local vegetable varieties
- Testing of organic fertilizers and compost production
- Experimentation with hydroponic cultivation methods
- Trials of alternative crops
- Targeted training for farmers and agricultural experts
- Field schools for farmers and students in agronomy