In 2011, Syria ranked second in the Arab world in olive oil production after Tunisia, and fifth in the world after Spain, Italy, and Greece, while it ranked third in the Arab world and sixth in the world in olive oil production after Spain, Italy, Greece, Tunisia, and Morocco, according to statistics from the International Olive Council, an intergovernmental organization that includes 44 countries, which accounts for 98% of the global production of olive oil.

Afrin, located in the Aleppo countryside, stands as a prominent hub for the cultivation of highly esteemed olives and the production of genuine olive oil. With an impressive count exceeding 18 million trees, Afrin’s olive industry held a distinguished position within Syria. However, these very trees became the initial casualties of the Olive Branch military operation initiated by Turkey in collaboration with its allied militias on January 20, 2018, aimed at seizing control of Afrin and neighboring regions in the Aleppo countryside.

How Turkey and its loyal militias steal the farmers of Afrin

Work in olive cultivation and oil production constitutes the primary source of annual income for the residents of rural Aleppo, especially the Afrin region, but the situation changed after its occupation by Turkey in 2018.

More than 300,000 of the original residents of Afrin were displaced and tens of thousands were resettled there in their place.

The remaining Syrian farmers are now unable to carry out their work safely, as many of them are exposed to kidnapping for ransom, in addition to cases of theft of the machines that help them in their work.

Turkey later created what it called “local councils to manage population affairs," which imposed on farmers a 20% tax deducted from the crop in exchange for providing protection for their agricultural lands, but, in reality, they pay these taxes for nothing.

Some armed factions loyal to Turkey imposed an amount of $4 on each tree in exchange for allowing the farmer to harvest fruits.

Meanwhile, other armed factions, often under the guise of landownership, compel workers to harvest olives on their behalf.

These workers reap the fruits in a quick random way, by hitting the tree with sticks, which leads to damage and breakage of some branches and may cause cracks and bacterial diseases. This operation takes a lot of time to process.

Despite all these events, if the farmer manages to reap his crop, he will have to pay at least 100$ to the checkpoints in order to be able to reach the olive presses, where Turkish representatives collect oil taxes.

It is worth noting that the armed factions forced farmers to sell olive oil to local merchants at low prices and sell it to Turkish merchants who transfer it to Turkey through the Azaz, al-Rai, and Bab al-Salama crossings.

Subsequently, they package the harvested olives in specially designed containers intended for export, prominently adorned with the inscription "Made in Turkey" in both Arabic and English.

On the other hand, local sources and human rights organizations reported that more than 2 million olive trees were cut down with the cooperation of the Turkish occupation authorities. The trees are transported to Turkey and sold to Turkish brokers working in the wood trade.

Risks of environmental, economic catastrophe in Afrin are high

Turkey's olive oil production has previously reached 150 thousand tons and increased by more than 30% after its occupation of Idlib and Afrin, while the total market value solely in Afrin is about 150 million dollars. Farmers receive only a third of this amount.

The Turkish Minister of Agriculture admitted several years ago that Turkey had seized and sold the olive and oil crops in Afrin. He said during a session of the Turkish Parliament, “We in the government want to put our hands on the resources of Afrin in one way or another, so that these resources do not fall into the hands of the Kurdistan Workers' Party.”

According to a report previously published by the Turkish newspaper Zaman, representatives of Turkish agricultural credit cooperatives traveled to the United States to sell 90 thousand tons of olive labeling the products as Turkish, but it later became clear that they were stolen from the Syrian region of Afrin.

Other Turkish officials also admitted the theft, including the head of the Antakya Chamber of Commerce, who said, “Olives enter Türkiye under the condition to be sold to foreign markets only.”

The head of the Syndicate of Olive Oil Exporters in the Aegean Sea region also explained that “the decision to bring Syrian olive oil to Turkey was originally a political decision, not an economic one, but the product has become an important part of the olive oil sector in Türkiye.”

Amid global silence regarding this flagrant violation, the looming dangers of an environmental and economic catastrophe are alarmingly high. The potential consequences include the loss of livelihood for many citizens, the depletion of vegetation, and the subsequent risk of desertification, all of which pose grave threats to the region's stability and well-being.