FARM industries lacking people power have thrown their arms open to the prospect of Syrian refugee workers.
Horticulture, shearing and meat processing peak bodies have called on the government to send Syrians west of the mountains.
Voice of Horticulture chair Tania Chapman, Mildura, said "without a doubt" employing Syrian refugees would benefit fruit and vegetable growers.
"We need to get our crops off at the optimum time, and we need workers to do that," she said.
She said migrants from Iraq and Afghanistan had played a key role in the Goulburn Valley's horticulture industry in the past.
Shearing Contractors Association secretary Jason Letchford also threw his support behind the Syrians.
"To train these people in the wool industry so they can live in rural communities and help build them would be a fantastic thing," Mr Letchford said.
He said the industry was "desperate" for shearers and skilled shed staff.
"If these people are looking for a new start in life and we're looking for people to start in our industry, it seems like a perfect idea to match the two situations."
Marty Moses, managing director of wool brokers Moses and Son, Temora, echoed Mr Letchford's call.
"There's certainly a need there," he said.
He said Syrian refugees could be well placed to take up shed hand roles and later, fleece sorting roles.
But shearing contractor Paul Layton, Bundarra, said any worker he em- ployed had to "hit the ground running".
"I wouldn't have the time to train the Syrians up, were they to come to town. They would need to have a basic understanding of what we required," Mr Layton said.
"They would have to go to a training organisation to learn the basics, but there are a few of those around."
The meat processing industry, which employs 50,0000 people a year, also lacked the local manpower to keep it at full capacity.
The Australian Meat Industry Council national processing director Steve Martyn said while the fine details of the arrival of Syrian refugees remained to be seen, he was a key supporter of "imported labour".
"Many of our employees are from overseas because quite often we can't find local people to fill those gaps," Mr Martyn said.
NSW Farmers president Derek Schoen said he would support any initiative that strengthened regional communities.
"From what I have seen, these people deserve a safe place and a warm welcome so they can start a new life. I know they would receive that wherever they went in country NSW."
New arrivals lived a life on the land
SYRIAN support groups say Australian-bound refugees will be an asset to agriculture if they are provided the right opportunities.
Sydney-based Hermiz Shaheen, spokesman of the Assyrian Universal Alliance Australia branch, said many of the refugees displaced by the Syrian crisis come from agriculture-intensive areas.
Mr Hermiz did not want to pre-empt the refugee placement process, but he said his people could benefit regional communities.
"Generally these refugees will be from the towns and villages near the northern areas of Iraq, where the main work and hobby is farming," Mr Hermiz said.
"Our people are handy people, they have lived in harsh conditions and have had to do things with their hands.
"They would bring a good workforce to Australia. They are experienced in agriculture methods."
Mr Hermiz said refugees coming from the Khabur region of Syria had a particularly strong knowledge of farming.
"Of course, the two countries are very different and it will be a different situation here.
"People coming here must be well advised to start establishing themselves and have to be targeted by the right people."
The Syrian-born population of NSW before 2011 was 8500 - and mostly concentrated in Sydney - but the broader Assyrian culture in Australia is estimated at 60,000 people.
Nora Michael of the Assyrian Aid Society Australia said it was a long-term goal of the organisation for Assyiran people to retain a presence in their country.
But she said she supported opportunities being afforded to Syrian refugees in regional Australia.
"Welcoming people to society and making them feel like they can be valuable is a great thing," Ms Michael said.
"Temporary relocation to Aus- tralia ... and giving people the means to survive - whether it is metropolitan or rural - I don't see why we wouldn't support that.
"Obviously, they have already come a long way under much hardship, and you do not want to see them isolated and facing language barriers.
"But giving people that option is certainly not harmful. These people have a range of skills and are a hard working bunch of people."
