Statistical Abstract » Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing

This chapter provides data on the area of land utilized for agricultural purposes and on agricultural and livestock production, and presents per capita index numbers for agricultural and food production. It also includes data on fish catches and on the use of agricultural equipment and chemical fertilizers. Agricultural production data are classified according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) standards and are divided into six main tables dealing with: cereals, pulses, vegetables, fruits, industrial crops, and roots and tubers. The chapter also contains a number of charts indicating the relative importance of the agricultural sector in the ESCWA region.

Selected indicators of agricultural productivity and efficiency have been calculated for the ESCWA region for the purpose of comparison with world averages. Data are presented in numeric and graphic form.

Priority has been given to data provided by official national sources and the FAO database.

Table VI-I on land use shows that while the ESCWA region accounts for 3.7 per cent of the total world land area, cultivated land in the region accounts for 1.4 per cent of the world total of cultivated land. Desert environments predominate, with cultivated land representing a mere 4.5 per cent of the total land area, compared with a world average of 11.7 per cent in 2002.

The ESCWA region suffers from water scarcity and faces a serious water resources management problem. In 2003, 50 per cent of cultivable land in the region was irrigated, compared with a world average of 18 per cent.

The index numbers for agricultural production reported in table VI-2 were obtained from the FAO using the base period 1999-2001. The table presents indices for total and per capita agriculture and food production for the world and the ESCWA region. It may be noted that the indices for the region in 2002, 2003 and 2004 are lower than the world indices.

These indicators are significant in the context of the region’s numerous economic and social problems, which include high population growth rates, unemployment, and reliance on inexpensive traditional agricultural techniques rather than modern technology.

Levels of agricultural productivity vary from country to country in the ESCWA region. Productivity levels for cereals (table VI-3), pulses (table VI-4), vegetables (table VI-5), fruits (table VI-6), industrial crops (cotton, sugar cane, sesame seeds…) (table VI-7) and potatoes (table VI-8) relate to the period from 1992 to 2004.

The ESCWA region has a variety of livestock (table VI-9). Asses and camels for use in farming, cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, horses and chickens are the main types of livestock raise in the region. In 2004, asses and camels accounted for 9.6 and 5.8 per cent respectively of the world total, while horses accounted for 0.2 per cent and cattle for 0.5 per cent.

In 2004, total beef and veal production in the region represented roughly 0.9 per cent of world output, poultry production about 2.2 per cent, and lamb and goat meat production about 5 per cent (table VI-10).

In view of the climate and topography of the region, fish catches represent less than 1 per cent of the world total (table VI-11).

Most countries in the ESCWA region use traditional agricultural methods, and little progress has been made towards adopting modern technology. The region accounts for a mere 1.1 per cent of the world’s tractors and 0.3 per cent of harvester-threshers; these rates that have not increased in the last five years. Moreover, the utilization of such equipment remains relatively inefficient (tables VI-12 and 13).

The region relies heavily on chemical fertilizers. In 2002, the regional average use of fertilizers amounted to 111 kilograms per hectare, compared with a world average of just 92 kilograms per hectare (table VI-14).