MECC Supports Rural Communities and Enhances Food Security in Rural Dara’a
You can find some photos at the end of the text.
As part of supporting rural communities and enhancing food security, MECC team, through its Service and Relief Department – Diakonia, carried out an initiative to distribute winter vegetable seeds and agricultural tools to the residents of Al-Quniyya village in rural Dara’a. The aim was to support family stability and improve economic livelihoods.
A total of 895 families benefited from the initiative, including households where women are the sole breadwinners.
The distributed seeds included: fava beans, garlic, spinach, lettuce, radish, parsley, coriander, and onions. The agricultural tools provided included: shovel, grape hoe, mulch, hose, water tap, garden rake. In addition, the families received Balanced fertilizer, two water tanks and had modern irrigation systems installed to ensure the sustainability of agricultural production.
The beneficiaries also attended training sessions on proper farming techniques, how to deal with plant diseases, and practices that help increase crop yields. Moreover, an agricultural engineer visited the beneficiary families on a monthly basis to monitor the crops and provide necessary guidance to improve production quality.
In addition to agricultural support, 126 women from the beneficiary families attended awareness sessions focused on protection and psychosocial support. These sessions addressed topics such as preventing domestic violence, child protection, and positive parenting. The sessions helped many women improve communication within their families and strengthen household stability.
Residents of Al-Quniyya village also received food parcels to support their basic needs and enhance food security for their families.
One program beneficiary stated that the initiative provided him not only with a harvest for one season, but for upcoming seasons as well, after learning how to dry seeds for replanting. He also noted that the water tanks and installation of irrigation systems helped him overcome water shortages, despite the frequent outages in his village.
He said: “We didn’t know how to dry seeds for replanting, and this method helped us save on the cost of buying new seeds. We also learned proper weeding techniques, how to identify and treat plant diseases, and the importance of involving children in farming to improve their nutrition.”
One of the women who benefited from the protection and psychosocial support sessions shared: “I used to be quick-tempered and would get angry at anything my children did—I would yell at them and hit them. After attending the sessions, I became calmer and learned the importance of dialogue in parenting. Now, I treat my children with love and respect, and we’ve grown closer as a family.”
It is worth noting that the distribution process was carried out through home visits, during which MECC team ensured that each beneficiary had a home garden and a genuine interest in cultivating it. This initiative contributed to strengthening families’ food self-sufficiency and promoting sustainable agriculture for long-term self-reliance.
