SAUDI ARABIA

-- The oil boom
in the Gulf has taken a toll of
the wheat farms of Saudi
Arabia. Large tracts of rich,
arable land are slowly drying
up in the Saudi Arabian
desert as the once lucrative
wheat farming has lost its
appeal. The oil boom of'70s-
'80s saw the country pouring
hundreds of millions of dollars into turning the desert
sands to arable land and
boosting the output of oases.
Half the cost of setting up
farms was financed by the
government and the rest of
the sum was given to the
farmers in interest-free
loans. It also paid prices far
higher than world rates to
buy wheat from the farmers.
But over the years, profits
have dwindled and now only
about 60 per cent of the estimated 1.6 million ha of
arable land is used for farming. Reduction of generous
water and electricity subsidies has also dampened the
farmers' interest.