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11.4 Capital use among agricultural holdings

While the size distribution of land is rather unequal, there are elements that counterbalance, namely the distribution of different types of capital by size of holding. At issue is the extent to which different types of holders have similar patterns of capital ownership or use. There are four types of capital that are relevant for Syria, and for which the census data permit analysis. These are irrigated land, productive trees, animals and machinery.

Table 11.9 indicates the average area operated by holders of different size, and the proportion of irrigated area among them. The noticeable thing is that albeit the amount of irrigated land increases with holding size, the proportion of irrigated land decreases. The larger land holdings have a larger proportion of rain-fed land.

Table 11.9 Irrigated land in landed holdings by size

Land size classes (ha)

Number of holders

Average total area per holding (ha)

Average irrigated area per holding (ha)

Percent irrigated land

<0.5

49 185

0.30

0.13

44.5

0.5-2

155 586

1.11

0.41

37.1

2-10

238 346

4.58

1.37

29.8

10-50

118 426

19.67

3.93

20.0

>50

11 650

92.52

13.89

15.0

All country

573 193

8.18

1.79

21.8

Source: Computed from 1994 census of agriculture.

Table 11.10 indicates the numbers of holders by size classes who plant crops, trees, greenhouses, and combinations. There are several noticeable things in this table. First, the number of holders who plant only crops is relatively small, only 46.5 percent of the total. However, the proportion is much larger among the large holdings. In the largest size class, namely those with area larger than 50 ha, 78 percent plant only crops, while in the lowest size class, namely those with area less than 0.5 ha, only 27.4 percent plant only crops. In the next smallest size class, namely those with land between 0.5 and 2 ha, only 33 percent plant only crops.

Table 11.10 Distribution of holders by types of crop operations

Land size classes (ha)

Landed holders (number) ...with:

only crops

only fruit trees

crops and fruit trees

green house and other cultivation

only greenhouse cultivation

Number

%

Number

%

Number

%

Number

%

Number

%

<0.5

49 185

13 475

27.4

26 076

53.0

5 113

10.4

2 747

5.6

202

0.4

0.5-2

155 586

51 650

33.2

58 542

37.6

36 959

23.8

6 380

4.1

42

0.0

2-10

238 346

113 977

47.8

43 386

18.2

73 198

30.7

5 655

2.4

2

0.0

10-50

118 426

78 556

66.3

5 817

4.9

32 770

27.7

582

0.5

0

0.0

>50

11 650

9 088

78.0

122

1.0

2 351

20.2

47

0.4

0

0.0

All country

573 193

266 746

46.5

133 943

23.4

150 391

26.2

15 411

2.7

246

0.0

Source: Computed from 1994 census of agriculture.

Remarkable from this table is the large number of holders (23.4 percent of all holders with land) who plant only fruit trees. This proportion is, however, much larger among small size holdings (53 percent of the smallest size class, and 37.6 percent in the next smallest size class). This indicates that for most small holdings fruit trees are a profitable activity. The same pattern emerges in the case of holders who have only greenhouses, or greenhouses along with other cultivation. This suggests that farmers compensate with labour-intensive farming for the small size of their holdings. An important implication is that policies relating to fruits and vegetables (most greenhouses produce vegetables) impact on small holdings, while policies for crops impact more on larger holdings.

While the choice of the type of vegetal crop partly compensates for the different holding size, this is not so for animals (table 11.11), due to the extensive nature of most animal raising in Syria. The number of holders who operate only land, namely have no animals, is relatively small, only 26.5 percent of all holders. However, the proportion is much larger among small holdings: animal ownership is concentrated among larger holdings.

Table 11.11 Proportion of holders with different types of animals by holding size

Land size classes (ha)

Number of holders

percent of holders with ...

sheep

cows

goats

Broiler chicken

Layer chicken

local chicken

horses

camels

beehives

Without land

40 464

49.83

34.33

32.32

0.58

0.93

65.08

16.55

0.23

3.91

<0.5

49 049

7.18

24.81

7.88

0.28

0.10

35.01

9.91

0.07

2.41

0.5-2

155 571

12.06

32.70

12.04

0.32

0.07

43.61

19.26

0.12

2.99

2-10

238 443

26.01

32.10

20.61

0.34

0.07

55.86

21.79

0.14

3.61

10-50

118 473

50.37

19.72

31.18

0.28

0.09

65.65

20.38

0.16

2.75

>50

11 657

61.77

11.21

33.92

0.14

0.09

58.83

21.88

0.30

1.70

All country

613 657

27.92

29.03

20.48

0.33

0.14

53.64

19.58

0.14

3.17

Source: Computed from 1994 census of agriculture.

The proportion of holders owning sheep and goats, the two most popular types of animals, is much higher among larger farm holdings, and approach the proportion of landless holders that have these types of animals, who are traditionally regarded as animal raisers. On the other hand, the ownership of horses and local chickens, while skewed in favour of the larger holdings, is relatively evenly distributed. However, cow ownership is skewed towards smaller land holdings, indicating that many cow owners do not own much land, but instead rely on purchased feeds.

With respect to machinery, the distribution is also uneven. Table 11.12 indicates the pattern of ownership of different types of machinery by farm size.

Table 11.12 Proportion of holders with different types of machinery by holding size

Land size classes (ha)

Number of holders

Percent of holders owning ...

water raising pumps

sprayers by motors

seeders

modern ploughs

fixed threshers

harvester threshers

tractors

Without land

40 464

0.42

0.15

0.75

2.02

0.37

0.84

6.89

<0.5

49 049

6.13

1.04

0.03

0.58

0.11

0.09

2.09

0.5-2

155 571

9.31

2.06

0.14

1.48

0.24

0.18

4.47

2-10

238 443

14.18

2.24

0.92

5.52

0.59

0.58

12.96

10-50

118 473

17.09

1.74

4.57

12.20

1.01

1.61

22.18

>50

11 657

21.27

2.98

12.98

21.34

1.84

4.25

34.18

All country

613 657

12.09

1.88

1.57

5.46

0.55

0.72

11.72

Source: Computed from 1994 census of agriculture.

It can be seen that water raising pump ownership, seeder, modern plough, thresher, and tractor ownership are all heavily skewed in terms of the proportions owning toward the larger holdings, while sprayers are more evenly distributed. Table 11.13, however, indicates that the number of machines owned per owning household is very even, and close to one for most types of machinery. In other words, it appears that for most holdings owning machinery, one piece of machinery is enough. This suggests, in turn, that there might be considerable inefficiencies in machine use in smaller holdings, as both smaller and larger size holdings seem to utilize on average the same number of machines, whenever they own them, while the land they operate is vastly different. On the other hand, this is also consistent with the reported pattern, whereby machine owners who have surplus capacity make them available for hire to other holders.

Table 11.13 Number of different types of machines per machine owning holding

Land size classes (ha)

Number of machines per owning holder

water raising pumps

sprayers by motors

seeders

modern ploughs

fixed threshers

harvester threshers

tractors

Landless

1.16

1.13

1.07

1.59

1.10

0.94

1.00

<0.5

1.06

1.05

1.00

1.36

1.30

0.70

0.99

0.5-2

1.07

1.04

1.06

1.39

1.18

0.72

0.97

2-10

1.16

1.24

1.07

1.55

1.19

0.82

0.98

10-50

1.25

2.37

1.06

1.67

1.16

0.82

1.00

>50

1.56

2.40

1.08

1.88

1.03

0.94

1.07

All country

1.17

1.41

1.07

1.61

1.17

0.83

0.99

Source: Computed from 1994 census of agriculture.

Table 11.14 indicates the number of different types of machines per ha of total operated land (namely by all holdings and not only those owning the machines) among different sizes of holdings. The remarkable thing is that there appears to be an inverse relationship between the size class and the number of machines per ha. Assuming that those with excess machine capacity make them available to other farmers of the same size class, the numbers suggest that either there is considerable capital intensity in smaller farms, or that there are inefficiencies in machine use for smaller sized farms.

Table 11.14 Types of machines per ha of land by land size class

Land size classes (ha)

Total area operated (ha)

Number of machines per 000 ha for all holders

water raising pumps

sprayers by motors

seeders

modern ploughs

fixed threshers

harvester threshers

tractors

Landless

0








<0.5

14 626

217

36

1

27

5

2

70

0.5-2

173 296

89

19

1

19

3

1

39

2-10

1 092 383

36

6

2

19

2

1

28

10-50

2 329 423

11

2

2

10

1

1

11

>50

1 077 818

4

1

2

4

0

0

4

All country

4 687 546

19

3

2

12

1

1

15

Source: Computed from 1994 census of agriculture.

Table 11.15 explores the issue further by indicating the ratios of the three most prevalent types of capital (per family worker, and per full time equivalent hired worker (permanent and temporary).

Table 11.15 Capital-labour ratios by farm size in Syria

Land size classes (ha)

Water pumps per

Modern ploughs per

Tractors per

Family worker

FTE hired worker*

Family worker

FTE hired worker*

Family worker

FTE hired worker*

Landless

0.003

0.227

0.022

1.489

0.047

3.180

<0.5

0.030

1.464

0.004

0.179

0.009

0.469

0.5-2

0.034

1.357

0.007

0.280

0.015

0.589

2-10

0.045

1.152

0.024

0.601

0.035

0.895

10-50

0.061

0.786

0.058

0.747

0.063

0.815

>50

0.095

0.494

0.115

0.594

0.104

0.541

All country

0.045

0.985

0.028

0.611

0.037

0.807

*: FTE: full time equivalent.

Source: Computed from the 1994 census of agriculture.

If the prices for labour and capital faced by different types of farmers are the same, then the capital labour ratios, namely the so-called capital intensity should be similar across different types of farms. The table indicates that they are not, with larger holdings being generally more capital intensive than smaller sized holdings. The higher capital intensity holds for all capital types for family labour, which is the prevalent type of labour in agriculture in Syria. However, it is not the case for hired labour, where an inverse pattern holds for water pumps, and a more even pattern emerges for the other types of capital. This is evidence that, while the prices faced by farmers of different size classes for capital and labour in the open markets are similar, they are not similar for prices imputed for family labour. The generally lower capital intensity (or equivalently, higher labour intensity) of smaller farms, implies that the opportunity cost of family labour (the so-called shadow price of labour) is lower for smaller holdings, compared to larger ones. This is consistent with excess supply of labour by smaller holdings.


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