Kuwait is not self-sufficient in agriculture but the countrywill be in the future. Its production of cereals, vegetables andfruit grown in the oasis of Jahra and scattered smallholdings isnot sufficient for the population’s needs, due to limitations ofwater supply, fertile soil, climate and manpower. Much of its foodneeds to be imported but government investment and the work of theKuwait Experimental farm have led to improvements whereby existingresources are more efficiently utilized.
Kuwait is a small arid desert land of about 6200 square miles. There is virtually no natural source of fresh water. Climaticconditions entail occasional high winds and dust storms, little orno rainfall, and summer temperatures as high as 120?F. “Consequently, arable land amounts to less than 9% of totalacreage. “1 Soil deficiencies and the intense heat and sunlightallow continued cultivation only by expensive underground pipe-fedirrigation or by hydroponics.
Ordinary irrigation under theseconditions results in gradually increasing soil salinity. thisphenomenon has been the cause of the estimated 1% annual decreasein arable land for the region as a whole. Hence, development oftraditional agriculture is severely restricted. 1El Mallakh, Ragaei (Kuwait, Trade and Investment.
Boulder,Westview Press Inc. , 1989) pg117Kuwaitis are under no illusion that self-sufficiency will takeless than 20 to 30 years to attain and even then it cannot includesuch items as beef and cereals. For Kuwait cereal production isconsidered too expensive and unnecessary. Self-sufficiency inpoultry, vegetables and fruit is a visible goal: already Kuwaitproduces 60% of the eggs it needs, 40% of the poultry meat and 100%of the tomatoes. The next emphasis is likely to be on dairy farmingand animal husbandry to increase the 25% of the required milksupplies that is produced in the country. The Kuwaitis are veryconscious of the fact that urban growth and the hunting of animalswhich used to live in the desert has meant the virtual extinctionof wildlife.
Kuwait is importing from many countries animals suchas cows, chickens and sheep. In view of Kuwait’s extremely unpromising natural environmentwhich was made even worse after the Persian Gulf War, the key toall its hopes for self-sufficiency lies in research andexperiments. Their experimental farm research farm:Omariya, theKuwait Institute for Scientific Research and the Kuwait Fund forthe Advancement of Sciences are engaged in a variety of projectsconcerned with the hybridization of plants, animal breeding, theincrease of yields in desert conditions, the treatment of brackishwater and effluent water, irrigation methods, etc. “For example,the use of plastic mulching films as a cover for the soil isalready widely known as a method of preventing evaporation,reducing soil erosion and retarding weed growth.
“2 Winstone, H. V. F. (Kuwait:Prospect and Reality. London, McGraw-Hill Inc.
, 1990) pg. 198Kuwait only has 100 acres or so under cultivation in the wholecountry. This makes Kuwait one of the least agriculturalizedcountries in the world. The dependence on imports of foodstuffs isalmost complete. This state of affairs has had economic as well associological effects on the population since the oil exports payfor the food imports.
The urbanistic character of the indigenouspopulation has been reinforced by the lack of farmingopportunities. Kuwait is trying to change this in order todiversify and balance its economy which at present is highlydependent on finite amounts of petroleum. “Agriculture (includingfishing) accounts for but a small portion of Kuwait’s grossdomestic product (0. 24%). This economic sector utilized only 3% ofthose privately employed.
“3 3El Mallakh, Ragaei (Economic Development and RegionalCooperation. Chicago, Universityof Chicago, 1988) pg. 55Government studies have shown the feasibility of commercial scaleproduction of fruits and vegetables using hydroponic methods. However,little progress has actually been made in terms of expanding the incomebase of the country. The reasons for lack of progress areobvious:deficiencies of soil, lack of irrigation water, the harsh climate,and the limited supply of agriculturally trained manpower.
There is a heavydependence on expatriate labour since Kuwaitis possess an almost”agriculture-less” mentality, aside from fishing. If agriculture is an industry of the future, fishing, togetherwith pearling have been a major occupation in Kuwait since thefoundation of the state. Today with the increase in population andrise in living standards “the local industry provides about 99% ofconsumption, which is over 5000 tons a year. “4 The harvesting andeating of shrimp has progressed most rapidly-doubling in 2 yearsduring the early 1980s. The individual fishermen who still supplytwo-thirds of the local market, use much of the traditionalequipment.
Gradually they are acquiring more modern equipment whichwill allow them to be more efficient. There is also a UnitedFisheries Company which was setup by government to reduceoverfishing which a constant problem. 4The State of Kuwait:The Ministry of Information (Kuwait:Factsand Figures 1988. KuwaitCity, The State of Kuwait, 1988) pg.
22Kuwait will be self-sufficient in agriculture in the future. It will be able to grow more of its own food through new techniquesand it will continually be able to buy food should the country everfind itself in that situation. Many of the new techniques proposedare feasible and there is no lack of monetary resources to spend onthis problem. They already have succeeded in reducing theirdependence on imports of vegetables, fruits and poultry. Thegovernment will spend the money also because it wants to diversifyits economy instead of being mainly based on the country’spetroleum resources. BibliographyEl Mallakh, Ragaei Kuwait, Trade and Investment.
Boulder, WestviewPress Inc. , 1989El Mallakh, Ragaei Economic Development and Regional Cooperation. Chicago, University of Chicago, 1988Mansfield, Peter Kuwait:Vanguard of the Gulf. London, HutchinsonPublishing Co. , 1990The State of Kuwait:The Ministry of Information Kuwait:Facts andFigures 1988. Kuwait City, The State of Kuwait, 1988Winstone, H.
V. F. Kuwait:Prospect and Reality. London, McGraw-HillInc., 1990
