Chapter 10: Agricultural and Rural Development

Contribution of Agriculture Produce – food to meet basic nutritional needs – raw materials to help the industry – cash crops for export Create employment and income for a large number of people

Contribution of Agriculture Create demand for finished consumer and capital goods Employ a large percentage of the labor force Generate a large percentage of the GDP

Performance of Agriculture Per Capita food production in : Remained stable in the Middle East (excluding Israel)

Index of Per Capita Food Production

Reasons for Poor Performance Insufficient of investment in rural areas: – Human capital (education, nutrition, health) – Social capital (roads, homes, electricity, irrigation) – Land: water supply, fertilization, mechanization – Technological advancement: (high yield seed variety, better planting methods)

Reasons for Poor Performance Unequal land distribution – Large & powerful landowners – Small family farmers and peasants – Sharecroppers, landless peasants, and farm workers

Agricultural Dualism Commercial farming: Very large landholdings Massive government subsidies Subsistence farming: Small family farms Sharecropers Landless peasants

Agricultural Dualism Problems: Poverty Land and income disparity Rapid population growth Growing number of landless peasants Lack of government programs, helping small farmers Massive R-U migration

Role of Women Daily tasks: Home-making, child rearing Food processing for consumption and storage Farming: weeding, harvesting, raising livestock

Role of Women Cash crop labor Generate income through cottage industry 60-80% of farm labor in Asia Subject to gender discrimination in education and employment

Rural Development Strategies Technological change and innovation: Modern irrigation structure Modern mechanical and chemical inputs High seed varieties Modern farming techniques Appropriate technology: labor-intensive

Rural Development Institutional and Pricing Policies Parity pricing: equalization of unit farm and nonfarm prices Distribution systems and farmers cooperatives

Pattern of Land Ownership in ME & NA Private land owned by landlords and peasants Public land owned by the government Land under religious trust

Rural Development Strategies Land Reform: Distribute fertile land between small farmers and landless peasants Compensate owners for loss of land Provide supportive services to help increase production Establish rural industries and jobs to curb R-U migration