Generally speaking, the agricultural sector contribution to the national economic of the Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa MENA is small( about 16% ) despite the fact that about 36% of the economically active population is engaged in agriculture. This fact could reflect the sector `s low productivity and the poor integration of rural people into the economy. However, a more detailed analysis shows that if the share of agriculture in the region `s GDP is low, it is also because the other sectors of the economy( services and manufacturing ) are growing faster than the agricultural sector.
The contribution by the agricultural sector to the overall economy varies significantly among countries in the sub-region, ranging, for example, from about 3% in Jordan to 66% in Somalia . Across the sub-region, agriculture represents an average of 10-20 % of GDP . Similarly, the share of the economically active population engaged in agriculture varies from 4% in Lebanon to over 70% in Somalia , with an average of about 3-% for the other countries.
According to a report by the International Fund for Agricultural Development IFAD , apart from Yemen, Egypt and Syria, the growth if the agricultural sector in MENA countries did not exceed 3% during the 1990s . In relation to the population growth rate , this growth was not sufficient to make a serious dent in rural poverty and rural/ urban income differentials . The varying degrees m all the countries except Turkey are still dependent on food imports . Cereal production has increased by some 80% since 1979-1981, especially in Egypt and Morocco , mainly thanks to increased wheat production . The number of small ruminants has increased by 40% throughout the sub-region and meat production has doubled. Notwithstanding these gains , however, the food gap is expected to grow by 2.9% in 1995-2010.
In many of the countries including Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia, Syria and Yemen, the agricultural sector is in transition, from being heavily controlled by the state to being largely influenced by market forces . Until the early to mid - 1990s in many countries, state involvement in the agricultural sector means interventions such as price support measures, consumer food subsidies, production and area quotas , and trade barriers to support food self- sufficiency. While farmers often received input subsidies ( for credit, seed, fertilizers and fuel), they were also obliged to sell their output to state monopolies at fixed prices , which depending on the country , where either below or above market prices.
As has been the case world-wide, the system of subsidies and market controls distorted resource allocation and led to stagnation in the agricultural economy. In the wake of liberalization programs, subsidies have been abolished or rationalized in many of these countries , promoting a slow adjustment by the agriculture sector or a new environment of free market enterprise and globalization . This calls for a new focus by the private sector on agricultural support services , with an important role for the government as facilitator and provider of an enabling environment . The involvement of government, civil society ( including non- governmental organizations ( NGO s) and donor agencies will be crucial in helping the rural poor benefit from this transformation.
Concerning land, use in the area, IFAD report says that the MENA sub- region has poor agricultural lands, and most MENA countries have vast areas of desert . The climate is usually very hot and dry , characterized by low annual precipitation and high rates of evaporation. Most crop farming is done in dry land and is directly dependent on rainfall. There are three types of land use in the MENA sub- region . The first is of Rain-fed or dry-land farming which is the predominant form of land use . Compared to irrigated farming , average crop yields are low and vary subsequently according to levels of rainfall. In Lebanon and Syria , where rainfall is higher and evaporation is low , conditions are more suitable for this type of farming.
The second is nomadic pastoralims . This represents the most efficient use of marginal dry-lands because it allows nomads to maintain their herds for certain periods in different locations, thus optimizing use of those area. Seasonal migration is the norm, given the inadequacy of local ecosystems to support nomads and their herds in one fixed place the year through . Nomadic movements are restricted by intratribal factors and country boundaries.
The second is irrigated agriculture . This form of agriculture is undertaken in limited cultivable water- abundant areas . It requires capital, expertise and level fields.
In each country, the agricultural area , as a percentage of the total country area , varies from 3.29% in Egypt to 74.34% in Syria . The area of arable land , as a percentage of the total country area, is lowest in Somalia ( 1.64%) and highest in Turkey ( 31.15% ). The countries with the largest areas of permanent crops are Turkey with 2 534 000 ha( 3.27% of its total area . Tunisia with 2 250 000 ha ( 13.75% of its total area)/ Morocco with 945 000 ha ( 2.12% of its total area ) and Syria with 801 000 ha( 4.32% of its total area). Somalia with 22 000 ha ( 0.03% of its total area ) has the smallest area of permanent crops. The countries with the largest areas of permanent pasture are the Sudan with 110 000 000 ha ( 43% of its total area ).
Somalia with 42,000 000 ha ( 67. 42 % of its total area) and Algeria with 34.500 000 ha ( 14.48 % of its total area ). Lebanon , with 16,000 ha ( 1.54 % of its total area ), has the smallest area of permanent pasture . On an aggregate level, 37.67 of the total land area of the MENA sub-region is considered agricultural area ( due mainly to the large areas in the Sudan, Somalia, Algeria and Turkey); 8.05 % is arable land ( 3.38% when excluding . Turkey and the Sudan which have large arable land areas); 0.93% is devoted to permanent crops; and 28.70% is used for permanent pasture ( 16.13% when excluding the Sudan.
Tomader Fateh
© Syria Times 2004
