Promising income-generating options such as medicinal plants, grape leaves and fruits, summak, and honey will be combined with land management practices and generate additional cash income to support the farmers with the rehabilitation of the degraded olive slopes. The problem is that farmers are not always aware about the opportunities of new agricultural-based income-generating options and lack the confidence to try them out, due to lack of experience, lack of an adapted credit system, or the absence of enabling governmental policies. This SGP will address these issues by developing a sustainable community micro-credit system (sanduq) to support land and water management and diversification options

The Maghara watershed will serve as a Benchmark site for sustainable land and water management and diversification in mountainous dryland environments. Field days and exchange visits will be organized by ICARDA to exchange experiences and expose researchers, Extension staff and farmers from Maghara, Afrin and other villages, regions and countries to sustainable options and technologies for these environments.