Syrian agriculture : historical and environmental context

Crops best suited to the climate include wheat, barley, chickpeas, and drought resistant trees such as olive, but many other crops can be grown with the assistance of irrigation. Through aggressive agricultural policies created in the 1960s and 1970s that heavily subsidized the cost of production, Syria became food self-sufficient and a major exporter of wheat and cotton. In recent years the agricultural sector has proven to be unsustainable as a combination of frequent and sustained drought and withdrawal of farming subsidies devastated agricultural production. Steps must be taken to decrease the pressure put on the limited water resources by either removing crops with a high water demand, such as cotton, or improving the efficiency in which irrigated water is delivered. (Author abstract, modified)