Middle East and North Africa: development policy in view of a narrow agricultural natural resource base.

摘要

To preserve or make efficient use of a narrow agricultural natural resource base, countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region feel an urgent need to develop an integrated strategy that includes strong demand management policies, especially with regard to water resources. If such policies take root, however, the agricultural sector will shrink and trigger profound socioeconomic changes in over half of the MENA countries (most of which happen to be the poorest in the region). The consequences include increased rural poverty, rural-urban migration, rising food prices, and a worsening balance-of-payments situation. Hence, each country must assess the full impact of its own natural resources policies, and coordinate the consequences they bring about with other macroeconomic policies and targets.