Kuwait
 
Kuwait is not self-sufficient in agriculture but the
country will be in the future. Its production of cereals,
vegetables and fruit grown in the oasis of Jahra and
scattered smallholdings is not sufficient for the
population's needs, due to limitations of water supply,
fertile soil, climate and manpower. Much of its food needs
to be imported but government investment and the work of
the Kuwait Experimental farm have led to improvements
whereby existing resources 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.
Climatic conditions entail occasional high winds and dust
storms, little or no rainfall, and summer temperatures as
high as 120øF. "Consequently, arable land amounts to less
than 9% of total acreage."1 Soil deficiencies and the
intense heat and sunlight allow continued cultivation only
by expensive underground pipe-fed irrigation or by
hydroponics. Ordinary irrigation under these conditions
results in gradually increasing soil salinity. this
phenomenon has been the cause of the estimated 1% annual
decrease in arable land for the region as a whole. Hence,
development of traditional agriculture is severely
restricted.
 
1El Mallakh, Ragaei (Kuwait, Trade and Investment. Boulder,
Westview Press Inc., 1989) pg 117
 
Kuwaitis are under no illusion that self-sufficiency will
take less than 20 to 30 years to attain and even then it
cannot include such items as beef and cereals. For Kuwait
cereal production is considered too expensive and
unnecessary. Self-sufficiency in poultry, vegetables and
fruit is a visible goal: already Kuwait produces 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
farming and animal husbandry to increase the 25% of the
required milk supplies that is produced in the country. The
Kuwaitis are very conscious of the fact that urban growth
and the hunting of animals which used to live in the desert
has meant the virtual extinction of wildlife. Kuwait is
importing from many countries animals such as cows,
chickens and sheep.
 
In view of Kuwait's extremely unpromising natural
environment which was made even worse after the Persian
Gulf War, the key to all its hopes for self-sufficiency
lies in research and experiments. Their experimental farm
research farm:Omariya, the Kuwait Institute for Scientific
Research and the Kuwait Fund for the Advancement of
Sciences are engaged in a variety of projects concerned
with the hybridization of plants, animal breeding, the
increase of yields in desert conditions, the treatment of
brackish water and effluent water, irrigation methods, etc.
"For example, the use of plastic mulching films as a cover
for the soil is already 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. 198
 
Kuwait only has 100 acres or so under cultivation in the
whole country. This makes Kuwait one of the least
agriculturalized countries in the world. The dependence on
imports of foodstuffs is almost complete. This state of
affairs has had economic as well as sociological effects on
the population since the oil exports pay for the food
imports. The urbanistic character of the indigenous
population has been reinforced by the lack of farming
opportunities. Kuwait is trying to change this in order to
diversify and balance its economy which at present is
highly dependent on finite amounts of petroleum.
"Agriculture (including fishing) accounts for but a small
portion of Kuwait's gross domestic product (0.24%). This
economic sector utilized only 3% of those privately
employed."3
 
3El Mallakh, Ragaei (Economic Development and Regional
Cooperation. Chicago, University of Chicago, 1988) pg. 55
 
Government studies have shown the feasibility of commercial
scale production of fruits and vegetables using hydroponic
methods. However, little progress has actually been made in
terms of expanding the income base of the country. The
reasons for lack of progress are obvious:deficiencies of
soil, lack of irrigation water, the harsh climate, and the
limited supply of agriculturally trained manpower. There is
a heavy dependence on expatriate labour since Kuwaitis
possess an almost "agriculture-less" mentality, aside from
fishing.
 
If agriculture is an industry of the future, fishing,
together with pearling have been a major occupation in
Kuwait since the foundation of the state. Today with the
increase in population and rise in living standards "the
local industry provides about 99% of consumption, which is
over 5000 tons a year."4 The harvesting and eating of
shrimp has progressed most rapidly-doubling in 2 years
during the early 1980s. The individual fishermen who still
supply two-thirds of the local market, use much of the
traditional equipment. Gradually they are acquiring more
modern equipment which will allow them to be more
efficient. There is also a United Fisheries Company which
was setup by government to reduce overfishing which a
constant problem.
 
4The State of Kuwait:The Ministry of Information
(Kuwait:Facts and Figures 1988. Kuwait City, The State of
Kuwait, 1988) pg. 22
 
Kuwait will be self-sufficient in agriculture in the
future. It will be able to grow more of its own food
through new techniques and it will continually be able to
buy food should the country ever find itself in that
situation. Many of the new techniques proposed are feasible
and there is no lack of monetary resources to spend on this
problem. They already have succeeded in reducing their
dependence on imports of vegetables, fruits and poultry.
The government will spend the money also because it wants
to diversify its economy instead of being mainly based on
the country's petroleum resources. 

Bibliography
 
El Mallakh, Ragaei Kuwait, Trade and Investment. Boulder,
WestviewPress Inc., 1989
 
El Mallakh, Ragaei Economic Development and Regional
Cooperation. Chicago, University of Chicago, 1988
 
Mansfield, Peter Kuwait:Vanguard of the Gulf. London,
Hutchinson Publishing Co., 1990
 
The State of Kuwait:The Ministry of Information
Kuwait:Facts and Figures 1988.
 Kuwait City, The State of Kuwait, 1988
 
Winstone, H.V.F. Kuwait:Prospect and Reality. London,
McGraw-Hill Inc., 1990