The Role of Legumes in the Farming Systems of Syria

Abstract

Syria may be divided into five agricultural regions, termed ‘Stability zones’, on the basis of average annual rainfall. Roughly 45% of the land is cultivable. Food legumes (chickpea, lentil and faba bean), and forage legumes (Lathyrus, Vicia spp.), grown in Zones 1 and 2, (250–600 mm) are important in the economy, although the most important feed resource is natural pasture, supplemented with crop residues, barley forage and grain, and some concentrates. There is a serious feed shortage. The most common crop rotation is cereal (wheat, barley) — fallow, although legumes have been introduced into some rotations. Constraints presently limiting legume production and productivity are pests and diseases, low level of inputs, and labour costs. Research strategies are aiming at extending new technologies through on-farm trials, particularly towards an integrated farming system (sheep, medic pastures-cereal); studying stocking rates; and breeding new cultivars of lentil and chickpea which are resistant to diseases and pests, tolerant to cold, and suitable for mechanization.