Agricultural Development in the West Bank (ص 36)

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Agricultural Development in the West Bank (ص 36)

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After the termination of Ottoman rule and the revived awareness of
the political and economic implications of land ownership, the
amassing of larger holdings became much more difficult. In
contrast, a new trend set in which triggered the splitting of
feudal holdings into ever smaller ones. This process was underlied
mainly by the continual division of holdings among heirs, and by
accelerated purchasing spurred by declining disparity among various
income groups. As a result of these and other factors the number
of large holdings (e.9. over 1000 donums) dropped sharply from 215
in 1953 to 30 in 1965 (see Table II-7). It is likely that their
number has continued to decline since then, though probably at a
slower pace.
T 1-7
Number of holdings and their distribution by size 1953 and 1965
1953 1965
ze donums ) Number % Number xz
Total 61,750 100.0 54,978 100.0
Less than 10 16,816 27.32 27,406 49.84
10 - 49 25,497 41.29 18,932 34.44
1-99 9,769 15.82 5,719 10.41 |
100 - 199 6,193 10.03 2,211
200 ~ 499 2,801 4.54 757
500 ~ 999 459 0.74 105
1000 - 1999 . 17 “19 26
2000 - 4999 59 0.10 4
5000 and over 39 0.06 -
Sources: 1, Statistical Yearbook, 1957, (Amman:
Statistics) p 67, v( a REEMA
2. Population and Exployment_in th Agricultural Sector,
1967 (Amman: Department of
Supplement No 1, eee
ics, 1968)
Despite a vigorous trend towards the splitting of large holdings
into smaller ones, available evidence still points to a pronounced
concentration of large areas in the hands of few owners. Table
(II-8) shows that while 30 percent of all owners account for 10
Percent of owned land, 12 percent of them own 66 percent of the total
area in the form of holdings of 50 donums and above. Although
this is a clear symptom of inequitable land distribution, the
tangible consequences of this problem do not carry a relatively
similar weight, since diversity of ownership is most pronounced
in land of inferior quality. Unfortunately, the data in Table
{II-8) does not make distinctions in land quality. At any rate,
it is safe to conclude that land ownership is somehwat inequitably
distributed, and the extent of the problem and its actual consequences
on the process of agricultural development deserve further study.
Table (II - 8)
Distribution of agricultural land by size of holding
Size of unit Total area Percent of Percent of Number of
(donums) ( donums) total area total owners owners
Total 2,091,000 100 100 58,084
lin s 24,800 1 16 9,167
S- 2 195,300 9 23 18,775
20-50 499,700 24 30 17,215
SO - 100 579,500 2B 4 8,025
100+ 791,800 38 8 4,902
Source: Monthly Statistics for the Administrated Territori
No 8, 1971, (Jerusalem: Central Bureau of Statistics, 1971)
The trend towards splitting of holdings into ever smaller sizes
seems to have gone much beyond the point of diminishing returns,
&s could be inferred from Table (II - 9) which indicates a sharp

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Agricultural Development in the West Bank

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المنشئ

Hisham Masoud Awartani

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