The Dispossession of the Peasantry (ص 253)

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The Dispossession of the Peasantry (ص 253)

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237
There are, again, no detailed data on irrigated areas, but estimates are
available that show the progress over time, although somewhat inconsistent. The
first figure we have was for 1931 with an estimate of a little over 260,000 irrigated
dunums,"® of which 120,000 dunums were citrus. For 1936, the estimate of the
Royal Commission was 350,000 dunums, of which 300,000 dunums were citrus,
the latter figure being accurate according to many sources. What these figures say
is that between 1931 and 1936 the noncitrus irrigated areas declined from 140,000
to 50,000 dunums, which does not make sense in such a short time period. Thus,
either the 1931 estimate of 260,000 irrigated dunums was too high or the 1936
estimate of 350,000 irrigated dunums was too low. However, given our general
information about the relatively limited state of intensive agriculture in the 1920s
and early 1930s, and the estimates of wrigated areas for 1945, it can be safely
assumed that the 1931 estimate was probably too high.
In 1945, the estimate of irrigated areas was 500,000 dunums’? of which
about half was citrus. This figure makes sense given the substantial increase in the
irrigation of vegetables, fodder, and other crops starting in the mid-1930s and
continuing through the war years.
Most of the irrigated areas were in the plains. It amounted to 405,000
dunums or 81 percent of the total irrigated land. Next was the Jordan Valley with
85,000 dunums or 17 percent, thus leaving the hills area with only 10,000 irrigated
'8Census of Palestine, 1931, vol. 1, pt. 1, 23-4.
Survey I, 422.
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The Dispossession of the Peasantry

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Riyad Mousa

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