FERTILE CRESCENT
IRAQ
JORDAN
LEBANON
SYRIA
As a child, Vinay Chand spent two years in Bagdad and the experience left an indelible impression. We include coverage of the Fertile Crescent at this early stage as a tribute to the coming peace and period of great prosperity.
Later, there were attempts to establish an Arab Federation covering the countries in the Fertile Crescent. Of course, a vital part is not included these days and that is the Palestine. With peace looming ahead at some point in Iraq and a democratisation process throughout the region, there is reason to be optimistic and to dream again the vision of a Federation from the Gulf to the Mediterranean and a transport system more modern than the old Nairn Bus ( a Leyland creation, the largest bus in the world) Service which travelled from Bagdad to Damascus and to the Chouff mountains across the desert.
The Agriculture of the region is:
The region remains mainly based on wheat and barley farming systems with the addition of some of the best olives that are grown. The region cannot grow enough wheat and barley for their needs but there is a surplus of dates and olives.
The hectares accounted for by primary crops, a small part of arable land, are quoted for 2008 by FAOstats as being:
| Iraq | 3,681,389 |
| Jordan | 176,873 |
| Lebanon | 270,282 |
| Syria | 4,714,431 |
Israel 365,168
A total of 8.8 million hectares is harvested, a majority of which is accounted for by wheat and barley, grown in the region for centuries. There are problems with growing wheat as Saudi Arabia has discovered, with salinity levels of soil rising. There is also an over riding problem of water for irrigation with Israel taking a great deal of water from the Sea of Galilee and thus depriving water from the River Jordan. Still, there is a great deal of scope for improvement. Although disaggregated data for the West Bank are not published by FAOstats, Israel, in the same region and with much less land than all except for Lebanon has a much higher tonnage produced. Interestingly, half the latter tonnage is squash and pumpkins for fodder which started only in 1985 but has come to account for half the total tonnage Israel produces. The crops are far less important in the other countries in the region.
The four countries include two, Iraq and Syria, which dwarf the others in terms of size and population.
Syria has a population of 22 million,
Iraq of over 31.4 million,
Jordan 6.4 million and
Lebanon 4.2 million.
Together, they constitute a market of 64 million. If access to the market was free for the four countries, agriculture could well be an engine for growth.
IRAQ
There is considerable interest in reconstruction in Iraq and we have good maps like the one below that relect the situation regarding irrigated agriculture in Iraq. Clearly much more needs and can be done along the Tigris and the Euphretes rivers. The work is likely to follow as a peace dividend in the coming years and is something to await with excitement.
Iraq is the most populated and largest of the four countries. Interestingly, until the intervention and war in Iraq, agricultural production had been rising at a healthy steady rate, although it is routine to run down any accomplishments of past regimes. Since hostilities began, it has declined but not by as much as some would expect. It is interesting that Iraq has remained a major producer of agricultural produce and that agriculture is critical to the well being of its people.
Source: FAOstats
At its peak, Iraq was producing over 10 million tons of produce, still under what was being produced in Syria but Iraq also had the distraction of major oil and industrial development. There has been a 30% decline from peak output. There is a 3 million ton loss to recover.
Source: FAOstats
The leading crops by hectatage in Iraq were wheat, in common with the others in the Middle East in general and Barley as the dominant farming systems and also dates, rice, tomatoes, sunflower seeds and cucumbers and gherkins. The increase in global wheat prices should provide a market incentive to grow more.
In terms of volumes produced Iraq produced the following,
Source: FAOstats
Iraq was and is producing a healthy range of produce. Production is diversified although how efficient it is and how much of the infrastructure remains intact is difficult to discern. For high value horticulture, it is important to have good cold chains and market infrastructure particularly if exports are to be undertaken.
Imports by commodity
| * : | Unofficial figure |
| F : | FAO estimate |
| R : | Estimated data using trading partners database |
Dates are the most important agricultural export by Iraq, followed by skins, wool and hides and skins:
Exports by commodity
| F : | FAO estimate |
| R : | Estimated data using trading partners database |
Source: FAO
Iraq has a growing massive deficit in agricultural trade. Oil incomes more than compensate for the balance of payments liability. Nevertheless, agriculture is important as an employment and for the social fabric of the country. Industry has not been able to compensate adequately and the society remains very unequal.
JORDAN
Jordan has the lowest hectarage of the four and that is undrrstandable given a limited market and shortage of water. However, it probably has a great deal of potential for increasing production particularly if the water shortage is overcome. Desalination is too expensive for crops unless it is under very intensive conditions. The solution lies elsewhere and probably depends in part on reaching satisfactory agreements about water flow in the river Jordan.
The olives from the West Bank are generally considered as yielding the best oil of all olive producers. Those in Jordan may well yield excellent oil. The olive production is clearly very important. Barley and wheat areas are to be expected but must be suffering from rising levels of salinity of the soil as in the case of Saudia Arabia.
Clearly, there is very limited scope for livestock feed but the country does produce a good range of high value horticulture which can be developed especially with controlled environment farming.
Imports by Commodity
Source:FAO
The most important agricultural export of Jordan by value is tomatoes.
Exports by Commodity
Source: FAO
LEBANON
Lebanon benefits from the best availability of water in the region. We were once told by a leading developer of horticulture in Israel that in his opinion Lebanon enjoyed absolute comparative advantage for a range of produce and he contrasted the cost of irrigation in Israel unfavourably with that in Jordan.
Distribution of harvested land was as follows:
Lebanon is a major producer of olives as well as irrigated wheat. The produce that canbe grown in Lebanon is unique for the Fertile Crescent and the country has tremendous advantages in supplying the rgion as well as for exporting to Europe and other export destinations beyond the region.
Lebanese agriculture produces the most interesting tonnages for export potential in the Fertile Crescent andenjoys comparative cost advantages over all including Israel. However,Lebanon does not have the advanced system of infrastructure for marketing to a global market.
Imports by commodity
| * : | Unofficial figure |
| [ ]: | Official data |
Source: FAO
Exports by Commodity
Source: FAO
SYRIA
Syria is the leading agricultural producer of the Fertile Crescent.
The hectarage distribution is familiar for the region with wheat, barley and olives having the greatest amount of land devoted to them.
Syria is the major agricultural producer of the Fertile Crescent with 4.7 million ha used to produce 12 million tons of produce, palcing it ahead of Iraq which has suffered greatly recently.
Imports by commodity
| * : | Unofficial figure |
| F : | FAO estimate |
| R : | Estimated data using trading partners database |
Exports by Commodity
| F : | FAO estimate |
| R : | Estimated data using trading partners database |
Source: FAO
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