Agricultural Development In The Middle East

This report was produced for the Middle East Supply Centre, an institution set up by the British in 1941 to supply and/or keep supplies for basic life needs open to populations in the Middle East over which Britain had control. This is the first in a series of four. (The second volume is on non-agricultural scientific surveys of the Middle East.) This report identifies problems for agricultural development, including social factors, scientific and technical problems such as soil quality, and farmer information about new techniques.

Articles on trends in agricultural policies for agricultural development in the Middle East - emphasizes the value of water resources for land utilization and irrigation, and the development and modernization of the livestock sector; covers role of the agricultural sector in development policy, the need for agricultural mechanization, land reform, etc.; includes case studies of Egypt, the Gulf States, Iraq, the Iran, Islamic Republic, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey and Yemen. Graphs, maps, references, statistical tables.

As the reality of a food deficit emerged in the Middle East, rural society and the agricultural sector – once viewed as peripheral to national development – swiftly rose up the policy agendas of nearly every Middle East country. This book, first published in 1982, looks at the complex interrelationships of food production, development schemes and politics in those countries. Dr Weinbaum considers the origins, nature, scope and political dimensions of the potential food shortfall and explores how food deficits could lead to changed international relations among states in the Middle East. He specifically examines the physical and technological limitations to increased food production, then assesses the major social, economic and political hurdles in the way of agricultural development, the effects of – and pressures for – agrarian reform, the bureaucratic policymaking process, and the domestic impact of foreign assistance policies. He concludes with an examination of the linkage between food supply availability and political stability.

The agriculture sector is key for economic and social development, but the sector’s potential has not received enough attention from policy makers and stakeholders in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Political transitions, instability, and the resulting refugee crisis have shifted focus away from other pressing development challenges, including slow progress in economic diversification, high unemployment, and persistent high food insecurity and rural poverty. Despite its small contribution to GDP, agriculture is strategic for sustainable development in the MENA countries. Agriculture, for example, is central to achieve food and water security in a region characterized as one of the most food insecure and water scarce in the world. The sector’s role in employment is also central, given the region’s high structural unemployment. However, it will not be possible for MENA countries to develop agriculture without a pathway to structural economic transformation. The region has already started the process of transformation but longstanding challenges remain. This report aims to examine the drivers, constraints, and social implications of agricultural development in MENA and to explore possible cornerstones for new and sustainable development strategies in the context of economic transformation. More specifically, the report provides answers to the following questions: • What development strategies and policies did governments in MENA put in place over the past three decades and how did they affect the performance of agriculture? • How did the structural characteristics of the MENA countries affect agricultural development and the economic transformation process in the region? • What did we learn from the past performance of agriculture? What should be the central elements guiding future agricultural policies? • What are elements of a new and sustainable development strategy in MENA countries? • What is the role of agriculture and agro-industries for development in MENA?

Produced by the Professors World Peace Academy, this collection of essays by Middle Eastern scholars and experts examines the problems of a vast, largely arid region where the demand for food far outstrips the productive capacity of the land. The essays are grouped within five sections: water resources, agricultural production, the food production-consumption gap, problems confronting agricultural production, and prospects and potentials for agriculture and food production. Acidic paper. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Study of the development potential of agriculture in the Middle East - covers climate, natural resources, land utilization, water utilization, the agrarian structure, agricultural production and trade, the rural worker force, etc., includes sociological aspects and stresses the 'package' nature of development planning for social change and innovation. Maps, references and statistical tables.

Pamphlet on agricultural development in Egypt, Iran, Islamic Republic, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the Sudan - covers agricultural production, agricultural policy and future prospects of each country, etc. Maps, references and statistical tables.