Technology Use in Kuwait's Agriculture: Evaluating Technologies and Establishing Baseline Database

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In Kuwait, locally produced fresh vegetables, poultry meat and table eggs can meet an average of 55% of the total demands. Fresh milk/milk products and red meats can meet only 22% and 7% of the national demands respectively. Over 96% of total demands for animal feeds are imported. Efficiency of production of crops, animals and fishes can be increased significantly by agriculture technology transfer and use. Data on the type, level and effectiveness of technology introduced to Kuwait's agricultural and fisheries production systems are scarce. The scope of this project is investigating whether the sizes of the agricultural farms/operations can influence the level of technology utilization and productivity of fresh products. Existing farms will be categorized as small, medium and large. Levels of technologies utilized in the farms will be classified as low, medium and high-tech production practices. The technologies developed and tested in Kuwait by R&D studies will be identified. Variables of studies will be yields, product quality, cost of production and efficiency of production (input vs. output). This project will evaluate the level of technology used in the different farm sizes, small, medium and large, for establishing a database. Seven tasks will be undertaken: Mobilization of work, evaluating technologies in use on plant/crop, livestock, poultry and evaluating the Quality of inputs and commodities, establishing baseline database for Kuwait's agriculture and reporting. The output of the project will be an agricultural baseline database for Kuwait's agricultural production systems. The database will serve as a guideline for the farm producers, researchers, extension workers, policy makers, planners and others interested in agriculture for improving the sector. The beneficiaries will be the Kuwaiti agricultural producers and consumers.