Millions of Syrians fled the country after the crisis started in 2011. Jehad Al Meqdad was tempted to join them.
“For a moment I thought of leaving Syria because of challenges during the crisis, but I couldn’t do it,” says Jehad, a 52-year-old who now works for FAO as an agronomist. “So, I took the decision to stay in Syria and work hard to build resilience for farmers to stay on their land and produce food. This is very important in my life.”
Originally from the southern governate of Daraa, Jehad has been an agronomist for almost three decades, working first for the Ministry of Agriculture, then for FAO for the last five years. He specializes in training smallholder farmers and female-headed households to use better agricultural techniques, teaching everything from how to select seeds to when to harvest crops.
“The farmers’ reactions touch my heart. Fiya is one of the farmers we met in the Daraa governate. I sensed her gratefulness for the support we provided,” Jehad says. “I am filled with happiness and encouragement to carry on assisting more people to access food.”
A life’s calling
“When I was a child, I dreamed of being an agronomist,” says Jehad whose family owns a farm in his hometown. The landscape turning green when plants grew fascinated him as a child.
“I was very happy when I attended the Faculty of Agriculture. I studied hard and I was very interested in this field. I graduated and made my dream real.”