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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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United Arab Emirates
Index
Agriculture, including fishing, was a minor part of the
UAE
economy in the early 1990s, contributing less than 2
percent of
GDP. Since the formation of the UAE, the availability of
capital
and the demand for fresh produce have encouraged
agricultural
development. The main farming areas are Diqdaqah in Ras al
Khaymah, Falaj al Mualla in Umm al Qaywayn, Wadi adh Dhayd
in
Sharjah, Al Awir in Dubayy, and the coastal area of Al
Fujayrah.
Total cultivable land is around 70,000 hectares.
Most of the UAE's cultivated land is taken up by date
palms,
which in the early 1990s numbered about 4 million. They
are
cultivated in the arc of small oases that constitute the
Al Liwa
Oasis. Both federal and amirate governments provide
incentives to
farmers. For example, the government offers a 50 percent
subsidy
on fertilizers, seeds, and pesticides. It also provides
loans for
machinery and technical assistance. The amirates have
forty-one
agricultural extension units as well as several
experimental
farms and agricultural research stations. The number of
farmers
rose from about 4,000 in the early 1970s to 18,265 in
1988.
Lack of arable land, intense heat, periodic locust
swarms,
and limited water supplies are the main obstacles to
agriculture.
The drive to increase the area under cultivation has
resulted in
the rapid depletion of underground aquifers, resulting in
precipitous drops in water tables and serious increases in
soil
and water salinity in some areas. As a result, several
farms have
been forced to cease production. Despite the creation in
1983 of
a federal authority to control drilling for water,
development
pressures in the 1980s and 1990s increased the
exploitation of
underground water supplies.
Between 1979 and 1985, agricultural production
increased
sixfold. Nevertheless, the UAE imported about 70 percent
of its
food requirements in the early 1990s. The major vegetable
crops,
supplying nearly all the country's needs during the
season, are
tomatoes, cabbage, eggplant, squash, and cauliflower. Ras
al
Khaymah produces most of the country's vegetables. In
addition to
dates, the major fruit crops are citrus and mangoes. A
vegetable
canning facility in Al Ayn has a processing capacity of
120 tons
per day.
Poultry farms provided 70 percent of local requirements
for
eggs and 45 percent of poultry meat needed in 1989. Local
dairies
produced more than 73,000 tons of milk in 1991, meeting 92
percent of domestic demand.
Considerable revenues have been devoted to forestation,
public landscaping, and parks. Trees and shrubs are
distributed
free to schools, government offices, and residents.
Afforestation
companies receive contracts to plant plots in the range of
200 to
300 hectares. The goals are to improve the appearance of
public
places as well as to prevent the desertification process
in
vulnerable agricultural areas.
Data as of January 1993
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