ABSTRACT
The Near East is characterized by a harsh dry climate. Only 6% of the region is arable, 5% is forest, and the remainder is rangeland of which nearly 20% is irrigated. Overgrazing is also due to shrinkage of the rangeland area because of the expansion of cultivation to areas incapable of sustaining agriculture. New advances in an overall land-use policy can be used as a basis for modernizing transhumance grazing. The homing instinct is being institutionalized by cooperative ranches formed for the exclusive use by the members, thus paving the way to modernization. The responsibilities of ownership have been restored and the people are more amenable to cooperatives than to technical guidance. A spineless cactus is also used in northern Africa to establish browse plantations. Croplands can play an important role in the modernization process because of their feed and forage-producing potential. Syria has demonstrated that lamb fattening in the form of cooperatives is feasible and economical.
