Development of Agriculture in the OIC Member Countries: Sustainable Agricultural Production
40TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION, comcec coordination office, Editör, comcec, Ankara, ss.346-348, 2024
- Yayın Türü: Kitapta Bölüm / Mesleki Kitap
- Basım Tarihi: 2024
- Yayınevi: comcec
- Basıldığı Şehir: Ankara
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.346-348
- Editörler: comcec coordination office, Editör
- Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Despite the structural transformation, a process in which the share of industry and services in economies has increased compared to agriculture, the agricultural sector is very critical for many developing countries, including the OIC member countries. It plays an essential role in economic growth, poverty reduction, and development. OIC Member Countries have potential agricultural resources such as water, arable land and human resources and account for a significant share of global agricultural production. With an agricultural land area of 1.36 billion hectares and a population of over 1.9 billion in the OIC Member Countries accounted for more than a quarter of the world’s agricultural land area and population. (COMCEC, 2024) Climate, soil quality, water resources and the diversity of agricultural activities in different geographical regions shape agricultural areas. According to FAO data for 2022, an area of 4.78 billion hectares, representing 36.7 per cent of the world’s land surface, is used as agricultural land. Some OIC Member Countries stand among the top countries in terms of production of various agricultural commodities like wheat, barley, rice, cassava, maize, palm oil, cocoa, coffee, rubber, sugar, etc. OIC agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) accounted for 19% of the world’s agricultural production). Moreover, the number of people employed in the agricultural sector in OIC Member Countries, accounted for 23.9% of the world agricultural employment. (COMCEC, 2024, SESRIC 2023) A number of slowly evolving long-term trends and short-term factors have slowed output growth on the one hand and strengthened demand on the other, causing agricultural prices to increase. Compared to the period between 1970 and 1990, when the production of aggregate grains and oilseeds rose by an average of 2.2 per cent per year, the annual growth rate since 1990 has declined to about 1.3 per cent. Many factors have contributed to the gradual slow output growth. These include a reduction of state intervention in the agricultural sectors of developing countries, reduced public support and overall investment in agriculture, and a decline in research and development by governmental and international institutions. The decrease in production growth has also been impacted by resource scarcity issues, notably climate change and water depletion. Every year, 5 to 10 million hectares (25 million acres) of agricultural land are lost because of degradation caused by water shortages (Mittal, 2009).