JEDDAH, 12 December 2003 — The government has imposed a five-year ban on the allocation of public land for farming to address the increasing water shortage.
The national water plan by the Ministry of Water and Electricity calls for an overhaul of the current policy of allocating land for agricultural use. Crop production in the Kingdom consumes inordinate quantities of water.
Regional officials have been instructed to ensure the moratorium is enforced.
The ministry will review the policy at the end of the five-year period, according to Okaz Arabic newspaper.
With water consumption in the Kingdom growing by a staggering 500 percent over the past three decades, the problem has reached alarming proportions. The amount of water available per person in the Kingdom is falling against a rising demand fueled by a population explosion.
Statistics show that while water used for drinking and other domestic purposes accounts for 25 percent of overall consumption, agriculture takes up 70 percent of the Kingdom’s fresh water. The rest goes to industrial use.
The government has so far spent more than SR100 billion on water projects.
Saudi Arabia continues to grow wheat and other crops that require intensive irrigation at enormous cost. But as in other Middle Eastern countries that are short of water, experts say total dependency on food imports creates a feeling of insecurity.
However, the decision to stop allocating agricultural land was taken at a meeting between the ministries of water and electricity and agriculture with other officials. It outlined the mechanism for enforcing the ban, which the participants said was in line with instructions from the top.
Existing farms on land sanctioned earlier will continue as before until a final decision is reached. This will depend on a study currently under way to assess the whole of the Kingdom’s water use.
The paper said allocation of land for poultry and poultry products would not be affected.
However, poultry farms that have a negative impact on nearby residential areas will be relocated.
The Ministry of Agriculture is also making sure that land is being used as originally licensed.
Experts have suggested a number of solutions to the water problem, including setting up private water research and development centers, letting the private sector develop and run water projects, intensive use of treated water in agriculture, and more import of agricultural products.
