Syria AGRICULTURE
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Figure 10. Land Use
Apricot paste drying in the Al Ghutah Oasis near Damascus
Harvesting cotton in Al Ladhiqiyah Province
Courtesy Embassy of Syria
Until the mid-1970s, agriculture had been Syria's primary
economic activity. At independence in 1946, agriculture
(including minor forestry and fishing) was the most important
sector of the economy, and in the 1940s and early 1950s,
agriculture was the fastest growing sector. Wealthy merchants
from such urban centers as Aleppo invested in land development
and irrigation. Rapid expansion of the cultivated area and
increased output stimulated the rest of the economy. However, by
the late 1950s, little land that could easily be brought under
cultivation remained. During the 1960s, agricultural output
stagnated because of political instability and land reform.
Between 1953 and 1976, agriculture's contribution to GDP
increased (in constant prices) by only 3.2 percent, approximately
the rate of population growth. From 1976 to 1984 growth declined
to 2 percent a year. Thus, agriculture's importance in the
economy declined as other sectors grew more rapidly.
In 1981 (the year of the latest census), as in the 1970s, 53
percent of the population was still classified as rural, although
movement to the cities continued to accelerate. However, in
contrast to the 1970s, when 50 percent of the labor force was
employed in agriculture, by 1983 agriculture employed only 30
percent of the labor force. Furthermore,by the mid-1980s,
unprocessed farm products accounted for only 4 percent of
exports, equivalent to 7 percent of nonpetroleum exports.
Industry, commerce, and transportation still depended on farm
produce and related agro-business, but agriculture's preeminent
position had clearly eroded. By 1985 agriculture (including a
little forestry and fishing) contributed only 16.5 percent to
GDP, down from 22.1 percent in 1976.
By the mid-1980s, the Syrian government had taken measures to
revitalize agriculture. The 1985 investment budget saw a sharp
rise in allocations for agriculture, including land reclamation
and irrigation. The government's renewed commitment to
agricultural development in the 1980s, by expanding cultivation
and extending irrigation, promised brighter prospects for Syrian
agriculture in the 1990s.
Data as of April 1987
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