The Importance of Barley in Food Production and Demand in West Asia and North Africa

Abstract

Within West Asia and North Africa (WANA) ¹ there is a wide spectrum of environmental conditions, from the areas of higher rainfall around the Mediterranean and of high elevation in central and eastern Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and the Atlas mountains, to the drier steppe and desert areas. Irrigated agriculture is important along the principal rivers but most agricultural land is rainfed. Although there are land reserves in Sudan and Ethiopia, the limits of agricultural land have been reached in all the other countries of the region. Therefore, increases in agricultural production are possible only through increasing the intensity of crop production and yields. There is also a wide spectrum of social and economic conditions, with substantial differences within the region in incomes, urbanization, agricultural policies, and the degree of public control over production and resources.