Agriculture is an area where water can be blatantly misused. Like everything else, however, it has its negatives and sometimes these are excessive. More than 15 years ago the Ministry of Agriculture laid the foundations for some basic economic projects. That was the time when the Kingdom began producing, and then reaching self-sufficiency in various food sectors, notably poultry, milk and fish. Producing these products requires water but their production should not be held responsible for excessive water consumption since after all, they represent a vital necessity. The expansion of production that later led into international markets was carried out by large successful local companies, now considered business leaders in the Arab world.
This major achievement by the ministry should not be overshadowed by other economic mistakes made by the government in evaluating different agricultural products. When farmers were encouraged to grow wheat — initially during the boom years — this meant shifting some surplus money from the state coffers into people’s pockets so that they could fund feasible agricultural projects. But what happened was that people took the funds for granted and continued to grow wheat as an easy and profitable crop in the absence of any other directives from the government. When the government finally moved, it was almost too late. There was a directive restricting the cultivation of wheat which should have been followed by a similar one limiting the production of fodder which requires more water. I do not understand what is wrong with importing livestock at prices lower than local ones. This would at least save the huge quantity of water wasted to produce fodder which is then smuggled out of the country.
Now for the date palms that we grow in large quantities which parallel the cultivation of olive trees around the Mediterranean. The olive tree is of immense economic importance and this is why Israel is uprooting olive trees in Palestinian areas as a punishment for the intifada launched by the Palestinians.
What have we done to use the date palm — apart from collecting the dates and selling them? We have no industries based on this product but there is much we could do to make dates as economically viable as olives. We should begin by limiting the areas for cultivating date palms and reducing the number of licenses given to farmers. Emphasis should be on the economic value of the product so that both the farmer and the economy benefit. The solution to the water problem lies in solving agricultural problems which lack a strategic vision. This would make agriculture an asset rather than a burden to the national economy.
Arab News From the Local Press 19 November 2002
