ABSTRACT
Saudi Arabia's agricultural sector, while isolated somewhat from the direct effects of the oil boom, cannot be separated from the pervading influence of the oil-based prosperity. Agriculture has benefited from increased oil revenues in the form of improvements, including expanded markets, cost reductions in transportation, and increased supply of modern inputs such as fertilizers, improved seeds, machinery and more readily accessible sources of credit. In addition, the Kingdom's current vast revenues have spared it some of the problems frequently encountered in agricultural development. Poorer countries are often dependent on surplus production of the agricultural sector to provide capital for development of other sectors; as development proceeds and the demand for food increases, failure to raise agricultural productivity quickly enough to satisfy demand can actually draw physical and financial resources from other sectors. Saudi Arabia need not worry about such a capital constraint.
