Agricultural Development in the West Bank (ص 157)
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- عنوان
- Agricultural Development in the West Bank (ص 157)
- المحتوى
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302
Cc. Feeding
The grazing season commences early in December and extends through
May. During this period grazing is the major source of feed, and
barley is served only on a supplemental basis once a day. From
June until the end of July, farmers let their flocks scavenge
through stuble remaining on harvested wheat and barley fields. In
August and through November, sheep and goat flocks are kept on
4 concentrated grain diet consisting mainly of barley and vetch.
Dry fodder consists of alfalfa hay and, more commonly, shredded
Straw,
Due to marked variations in topography and climate, many Bedouin
Owners transport their flocks from one region to another in search
Of natural pastures. Because of the rather poor quality of pastures,
animals have to scavenge over long distances in search of food.
Such an extensive activity is demanding on energy and it places a
ceiling on the livestock's growth potential.
a. Pastures
Until recently there were no artificial pastures on the West Bank.
In contrast, pastures consist exclusively of barren hill slopes,
forests, or orchards where a variety of wild grasses emerge early
in winter after preliminary showers. Due to the presence of wide
areas of uncultivated fallow it is possible to support a relatively
large Livestock population. Production of alfalfa and other forages
Under irrigation is not practiced, because of scarcity of water
Tesources and the higher comparative advantage of citrus and other
forms of irrigated farming. Grazing begins as early as weeds begin
to grow. There are no regulations in regard to dates and duration
°f grazing, and this can lead to severe overgrazing of pastures
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and their rapid deterioration.
Very little effort was exerted in the past towards developing and
regulating West Bank pastures, although topography and rainfall
Permit a substantial improvement for large areas. A considerable
amount of research has been done in countries with similar or
More severe aridity, and it has been demonstrated that a
Substantial potential exists for expanding pastures by substituting
natural fallowing (which is now in extensive use in all Middle
Eastern countries) by a crop rotation consisting of wheat and a
Special strain of Australian clover, called Medicago hespida. ?
FAO and ICRISAT* have organized intensive training courses on the
new technology in Australia and Algiers.
The Department of Agriculture in the West Bank is promoting the
Use of Medicago seeds in growing artificial pastures which could
thrive productively for 3-4 years under rainfed conditions. The
results obtained by farmers are encouraging, but the project has
SO far failed to take off ona large scale due to declining
*€sources in the Extension Department and the lack of adequate
legislation on grazing rights.
The situation of free-range grazing has deteriorated since occupation
asa result of Israel's closure of large areas for security and
Other reasons, areas which for a long time constituted the bulk
°f natural pastures for West Bank livestock. This measure will
be discussed later under the section on problems.
—~—S
1, This was a major theme in many of the papers submitted to the
FAO regional seminar on Rainfed Agriculture in the Near East,
held in Amman during 5-10 May 1979.
International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics. - تاريخ
- ١٩٨٢
- المنشئ
- Hisham Masoud Awartani
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