Agricultural Development in the West Bank (ص 121)

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Agricultural Development in the West Bank (ص 121)

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230
Problens
Olive production is hampered by a wide range of technical, economic,
and political problems. The most serious result of these problems
is the steady and marked decline in profitability of olives. In
this section we shall identify major problems and evaluate their
impact on the future of olive growing in the West Bank.
&. Economic problems
1. High cost of labour. Being a notably labour-intensive crop,
the profitability of olives has declined markedly with the
sharp rise in wages over the past 14 years. Wages have
risen, at fixed prices, by five times since 1966, whereas
the price of olive oil has just doubled during the same
period.
Labour is needed most intensively in picking, and to a
lesser extent in ploughing. Spraying with picking hormones
saves much on labour, but their use is still very limited
due to inadequate field testing of the new technology.
Undoubtedly, the prospects are promising, Likewise,
Ploughing costs can be reduced by wider dissemination of
weed killers and by the introduction of small tractors which
can reach large numbers of olive orchards.
2. Rough topography, excessive rockiness, and erratic rainfall.
The consequences of these physical constraints are profound
and very difficult to cope with. Mechanization is rendered
extremely difficult, transportation is expensive, and the
Potential for technological change is limited. While much
can be done to solve these problems, the researcher does
not advocate restricting olive culture only to areas where
land is ideal. The only limitations in this regard are
rainfall and the possibility of putting land under more
L
231
intensive forms of cultivation, if topography permits or
irrigation water is available.
3. Growing competition with imported seed oils. The West Bank
imports substantial quantities of seed oils, mainly of
sunflower, soya and corn, the reason being their low price
relative to olive oil. Prices of seed oils in world markets
fall in the range of US $ 670 - 700 for the price of olive
oil.!
Although seed oils are not ansumed fresh, many families,
particularly in urban communities, are using them for cooking
purposes instead of the mich more expensive olive oil.
Evidently, this is an international trend which is gaining
momentum in almost all olive producing countries. For
instance, aggregate olive oil consumption in major producing
countries during 1961 - 71 remained almost steady, while the
consumption of vegetable oils rose by 125 percent.” It should
be noted, on the other hand, that the substitution of olive
oil with cheaper oils is much slower in rural than in urban
communities, despite an attractive price differential.
The rationale of this argument is that the prospects of
increasing olive oil sales in urban communities are not
Promising - unless the price of olive oil becomes more
competitive, which in turn is unlikely in the foreseeable
future, whereas increased consumption by producing families
is certainly possible - should these families manage to
> F Marsico, op cit, p 2.
”
Rig, p 3,

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Agricultural Development in the West Bank

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المنشئ

Hisham Masoud Awartani

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