The Economic Importance of Soil Restoration in Improving Agricultural Production in Syria


Abstract in English

The process of soil restoration is one of the most important methods of vertical and horizontal expansion in the agricultural sector; it works to increase the effectiveness of investments on the one hand, and to accelerate mass production on the other hand. The processes of reclamating lands include a big number of important procedures that directly affect the utilization of agricultural lands. On top of these procedures come: constructing dams, building modern systems and nets for irrigation and sanitation, reclamating saline soil, protecting soil from drift and erosion, stopping encroachment of desert, settling land slopes, getting rid of stones, building terraces in slopes, drilling artesian wells, improving pastures, and cultivation green belts. The Syrian government developed a multiple-target-agricultural strategy including primarily increasing the reclaimed areas, using modern techniques for irrigation (drip and spray), as well as providing water for irrigation through the construction of several dams. This made the total irrigated area in the country about 1399 thousand hectares in 2011, i.e. about 24.5% of the cultivated land. The percentage of irrigated areas using this method is about 22.4% of the total irrigated area in the country. These actions positively affected the productivity of crops, vegetables and fruit trees, so that the winter irrigated crops reached 5–10 times the non–irrigated crops, and the summer irrigated crops reached 4 times the non–irrigated crops.

References used

Le Houérou، H. N. 1992. The role of saltbushes (Atriplex spp.) in arid land rehabilitation in the Mediterranean Basin: a review. Agroforestry Systems Volume 18، Issue 2، pp 107-148
Yingyi Chen، Dandan Li، Daoliang Li، Xing Wu، Yongjun Zheng، 2011. Assessment for soil improvement benefit of land rehabilitation in dump areas. Mathematical and Computer Modelling، Volume 54، Issues 3–4، Pages 1204-1212
M Qadir، J.D Oster، 2004. Crop and irrigation management strategies for saline-sodic soils and waters aimed at environmentally sustainable agriculture. Science of The Total Environment، Volume 323، Issues 1–3، Pages 1-19

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