Syrian agriculture at the crossroads


	FAO Agricultural Policy and Economic Development Series No. 8 Syrian agriculture at the crossroads Technical editing by Ciro Fiorillo and Jacques Vercueil Prepared under Project GCP/SYR/006/ITA Assistance for Capacity Building through Enhancing Operation of the National Agricultural Policy Center
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FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2003

Policy Assistance Division

The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not represent an official position of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations nor of the Syrian Government.

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

ISBN 92-5-104990-4

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© FAO 2003

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Preface

Introduction

Part One: AGRICULTURE IN THE SYRIAN ECONOMY

1. Agriculture in the Syrian Macroeconomic Context by Alexander Sarris

1.1 Introduction
1.2 Structure and evolution of aggregate production, capital formation, and prices
1.3 Population, labour force, employment and wages in the economy and agriculture
1.4 The productive sectors
1.5 Public finance
1.6 The monetary sector and developments
1.7 The external sector
1.8 Macroeconomic and growth policies
1.9 Conclusions and assessment of macroeconomic constraints on agricultural development

2. Trade and Agriculture: Perspectives for the Association Agreement with the European Union by José-María García-Alvarez-Coque
2.1 Introduction
2.2 An overview of syrian agricultural trade
2.3 Present setting in trade and related policies
2.4 Regional and multilateral choices for syrian agriculture
2.5 The photography of euro-syrian trade relations
2.6 Issues of the syrian-european association
2.7 Issues of the Syrian trade reform
2.8 Concluding remarks
3. Private Investment in Syrian Agriculture and Agribusiness by Hector Maletta
3.1 Growth and stagnation in syrian agriculture
3.2 Private investment promotion in the 1990s

3.3 The macroeconomic environment for investment
3.4 Trends in agribusiness investment, 1991-2000
3.5 The economic impact of private investment
3.6 Improving conditions for private investment

4. Agricultural and Food Policies in Syria: Financial Transfers and Fiscal Flows by Peter Wehrheim
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Conceptual framework for assessing the degree of taxation of agriculture in Syria
4.3 Qualitative review of agricultural policies
4.4 Quantitative analysis of taxation of agriculture in Syria between 1990 to date
4.5 Summary and policy conclusions
5. Agricultural Policy and Environment in Syria: The Cases of Rangeland Grazing and Soil Management by Gareth Edwards-Jones
5.1 Introduction
5.2 The Syrian Steppe: Al Badia
5.3 Soil conservation and management
5.4 Conclusion

Part Two: ECONOMICS OF MAIN SUB-SECTORS IN SYRIAN AGRICULTURE

CHAPTER 6. The Economics of Strategic Crops by Michael Westlake

6.1 Introduction
6.2 Wheat
6.3 Cotton
6.4 Sugar
6.5 Producer price distortion and the efficiency of resource use
6.6 Prices, costs and the profitability of production
6.7 The relative costs of price support and subsidization
6.8 Conclusions

7. The Syrian Olive Oil and Table Olive Sub-Sectors by Ivan Malevolti
7.1 Introduction
7.2 An overview of the olive oil sub-sector
7.3 Analysis of olive oil production and processing
7.4 Table olive market
7.5 Conclusions
Appendix: Olive oil classification

8. The Citrus Sub-Sector by Michael Westlake

8.1 Introduction
8.2 Economic characteristics of the citrus sector
8.3 Costs of production
8.4 Past and projected national citrus production
8.5 Domestic marketing and processing
8.6 The export of fresh citrus
8.7 Key policy issues
9. The Livestock Sector and Policies in Syria Summarized by J. Vercueil from a study by G. Cummins
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Livestock production and performance trends
9.3 Livestock production systems
9.4 Livestock feed and fodder supply
9.5 Livestock products marketing and processing
9.6 Livestock sector trade
9.7 Livestock support services
9.8 The way ahead
10. Marketing, Processing, and the Special Cases of Dairy Products and Horticulture by Daniele Rama
10.1 Introduction
10.2 The marketing environment
10.3 The marketing actors
10.4 Marketing flows and driving forces
10.5 Concluding remarks

Part Three: FACTORS AND IMPUTS FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION: STRUCTURES AND INSTITUTIONS IN SYRIA

11. The Syrian Agricultural Producers: Structural and Distributional Features by Alexander Sarris and Alessandro Corsi

11.1 Introduction: Types of farmers in Syria
11.2 Size distribution of holdings
11.3 Agricultural labour
11.4 Capital use among agricultural holdings
11.5 Farm and household incomes and their relation to farm size
11.6 Who will produce the future marketed surpluses of agricultural products in Syria?
11.7 Evolution of farm structures
11.8 Conclusions

12. Land Tenure and Labour Relations by Nadia Forni
12.1 Introduction and summary
12.2 Land tenure systems and historical background
12.3 Public and private land tenure in forest, pastoral and agricultural areas
12.4 Main trends in cultivated areas and the growth of part time farming
12.5 The legal framework for land tenure and the role of mass organizations
12.6 The land market and land operation contracts
12.7 Agricultural employment and the labour market: landlessness and labour shortages
12.8 The major policy challenges
13. Irrigation Water Policies in Syria: Current Developments and Future Options by Consuelo Varela-Ortega and Juan A. Sagardoy
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Structure and performance of the irrigation sector
13.3 The policy framework
13.4 Macro-level analysis: current and projected balance of water resources
13.5 Micro-level analysis: adoption of modern irrigation technologies
13.6 Concluding remarks
14. Agricultural Inputs and Market Liberalization by N.S. Parthasarathy
14.1 Background
14.2 The fertilizer system
14.3 The seed production and distribution system
14.4 Plant protection products
14.5 The inputs policy components
14.6 Input policies in relation to agricultural growth and sector policy
15. Agricultural Credit System: Institutions and Policies by N.S. Parthasarathy
15.1 Background
15.2 Institutional structure for agricultural and credit policy
15.3 Analysis of credit to rural households
15.4 Credit to services providers
15.5 Agricultural policies and the rural financial system

Acronyms and Glossary

About the Authors

References

Back cover

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