Zsozt7thcrives N°W-Inthfmid-197°S the Euphrate
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Syria: ACountry Study , RvC W^A AJwof, -£*{ • /W^^kc***. Oma6<-*~>A ^ UO*-t.Uw^Vvv V3 74 The Economy 50 percent ofthe labor force was employed in agriculture. Cotton was second to petroleum as an earner offoreign exchange, and Syria's major irrigation potential is in the Euphrates River vallev nearly 20 percent of exports were unprocessed farm produce. and its two major tributaries, the Balikh and Khabur (Nahr al About 85percent ofexports otherthan petroleum were attribut Khabur) rivers in the northeast portion of the country. The Eu able to the agricultural sector. Much ofindustry, commerce, and phrates is the third largest river in the Middle East, after the Nile transportation depended on farm produce. Agriculture's former in Egypt and the Tigris in Iraq. The headwaters of the Euphrates preeminent position had eroded, however, and by 1976 agricul SSJ * rr y^here relatively heavy rainfall and snowpack pro ture (including a little forestry and fishing) accounted for 22.1 vide runoff much of the year. The river Hows southeastward across percent of GDP, just marginally less than industry. the and Syrian plateau into Iraq where it joins the Tigris river Agriculture had a potentialsubstantially greater than had been J2M«KTPlying int°ihe?c™™ Gulf (see fig. 5, ch. 2). In realized by the late 1970s. Realization of the potential required the mid-1970s Turkey completed a dam with a very large reser large investments to develop irrigation. A start had been made voir for hydroelectrical power (but no irrigation). Iraq had two that Syrian officials hoped would considerably improve the pro dams on the Euphrates for water control, storage, and irrigation duction and income:; of farmers. In the mid-1970s about one-half of the annual Euphrates rivS flow was used by the three riparian nations. Water Resources Syrians have long used the Euphrates for irrigation, but since Water is ascarce resource inSyria as it is throughout the Middle the major systems were destroyed centuries ago, only limited use East, but Syria is more fortunate than many of these countries. Rainfall issufficient tosupportcultivation in an arc from the south accountedZSoZt7thCfor overriVeS85 percentn°W-In thfof themid-197°Scountry'sthesurfaceEuPhrate*waterRi"rre west, near the border with Israel and Lebanon, extending north sources, but itwas used for only about two-fifths (200,000 hectares) ward to the Turkish border and eastward along that border to of the land then under irrigated cultivation. Irrigation was largely Iraq. The other main area ofcultivation, although dependent on by direct pumping from the river. Several studies for projects irrigation, is along the Euphrates River and its major tributaries. were conducted after World War II, and in the 1960s the Soviet Rainfall is highest along the Mediterranean coast and on the Union agreed to provide financial and technical assistance for a mountains just inland from the coast; Syria's limited forests and major dam on the river, alarge hydroelectrical power station and forestry activities are concentrated in the higher elevations of portions of a major irrigation project. these mountains. Rainfall diminishes sharply as one moves east The dam, located at Tabaqah ashort distance upriver from the ward of the mountains paralleling the coast and southward from town of Ar Raqqah is earth fill, sixty-meters high and four and the Turkish border. The arc ofcultivation from the southwest (and one-half kilometers long. Construction started in 1968. The dam east ofthe coastal mountains) to the northeast is largely semiarid was closed in 1973, and Lake Assad, the ,e,ervoir behind the dam, having an annual rainfall between 300 and 600 milimeters. An began filling. Filling ,s believed to have completed in 1978. Lake- nual rainfall south aid east of the arc, the bulk of the country, is Assad is about eighty kilometers long, averages about eight kilo less than 300 milimeters, and the area is classed as arid. Grass and meters inwidth, and holds nearly 12 billion cubic meters ofwater coarse vegetation suitable for limited grazing growin part of this Ihe power plant has eight 100-megawatt turbines for power gen and area, and the rest is desert of almost no agricultural value. eration and transmission lines to Aleppo. Provisions were made for Rainfall is concentrated between October and May. Without a possible future second stage of construction to raise the height irrigation cropping is finished by summer when the climate is very oi the dam, increase the capacity of Lake Assad by about 10 per hot and dry. Moreover the amount of rainfall and its timing varies cent and increase the number of turbines for a total capacity of considerably from year to year, making rain-fed farming ex 1,100 megawatts The dam and power portion of the project >p tremely risky. When rains are late or inadequate, farmers do not Syria slargest and most costly development project, were essen even planta crop. Successive years ofdrought are notuncommon tially completed by 1977. ' and cause havoc not only for farmers but the rest of the economy. For planning and publicity purposes, the Euphrates irrigation In the late 1970s aboi t two-thirds of agricultural output (plant and scheme is nominally 640,000 hectares, alittle more than the area V animal production) depended on rainfall. already irrigated by the mid-1970s. This is the gross area that Extension andimprovement ofirrigation systems could substan ncludes roads, villages, and land taken up by the irrigation system tially raise output. Yields from irrigated fields have been several itself. In addition some areas have salinity problems, and in others times higher than from rain-fed fields, and many irrigated areas gypsum lies beneath the top soil; the amount of land that will be could grow more than asingle crop ayear. Development of irriga economical to irrigate will not be known until detailed stud.es are tion systems, however, is both costly and time consuming. compleed Completion of the irrigation project is not expected until after the year 2000 ^ •-T- Syria: A Country Study The Economy By 1978 considerable activity on numerous separate Euphrates irrigation projects was under way, but it was not clear what had troleum powered pumps that extended the area irrigated The been accomplished on each. It was believed that perhaps 20,000 government had heavily subsidized fuel costs to encourage use to 30,000 hectares of land had been irrigated and the housing of pumps. b roads, and farms completed for the 8,000 farmers forced to relo There was good potential for expanding and refining irrigation- cate from the area inundated by Lake Assad. Construction of irri in thewestern portion ofthe country. The government obtained gation facilities for between 50,000 and 100,000 hectares was economical results from small impoundments that held winter under way, and studies and planning preparatory to contracting runoffs to supplement rain-fed cultivation and to provide some were about completed on several additional projects. Construc summer irrigation. Small storage areas for water from wells and tion activity was largely by international firms because ofthe mag springs would permit additional irrigation. Farmers had not yet nitude of the tasks. The Soviets and the Romanians were develop turned tosprinkler systems ortrickle irrigation, which would con ing a total of probably more than 50,000 hectares, presumably as siderably reduce the amount of water needed for cultivation. aid projects. French, British, Italian, and Japanese firms had pre pared studies and were reportedly prepared to bid for construc Land Use tion contracts. The World Bank, Iran, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia The bulk of the country is arid with little vegetation In 1976 'I had provided financial help for some ofthe construction. Report nearly 20 percent was classified as desert (see table 7, Appendix) edly Syrian officials were attempting tointerest private interna Another 46 percent of the land was classified as steppe and pasture tional firms toundertake development ofirrigated farms on blocs although its grazing capacity was very limited—much like the ot landwith payment to be made from a portionoffuture produc American southwest (see fig. 8). Less than 3 percent of the land tion. was forested, only part of which was commercially useful The By the early 1980s Syrian officials anticipated completion of cultivatable land amounted to32percent ofthe total area. In the irrigation on about 50,000 to 100,000 hectares in the Euphrates late 1970s there was very little arable land that was not under basin. About 20,000 hectares were planned for completion each cultivation. year thereafter. The additional irrigated areas and an evening out Amajor expansion ofthearea under cultivation occurred inthe of seasonal and cyclical flows of the Euphrates by the Syrian and the Turkish dams will benefit Syrian agriculture. Achieving the goals may prove difficult. Technical problems with gypsum subsoil proved more troublesome than first an ticipated. Large cost overruns on some of the irrigation projects made themmuch more expensive thanplanned andcreated diffi culties financing additional projects. Moreover these large irriga tion projects required several years before returns on the invest ments began. Some observers also wondered if farmers could be attracted back from urban areas or enticed from more crowded agricultural areas to the sparsely populated Euphrates valley. In s addition the Euphrates flow is insufficient for the irrigation needs •' of the three riparian states. Talks began in 1962 on allotment of the Euphrates water, but acrimonious relations between Syria and ' Iraq hampered final agreements. Some agreements between Syria and Iraq were reached, but it is not certain they will be honored in future years. : In the 1970s the major portion of the country's irrigated land 1! lay westward of the Euphrates valley and resulted from private :l and public projects.