Factors Affecting Agricultural Sustainability–ACase Study of Hail Region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Availability of data on agricultural activities and production are essential for an appropriate socio-economic planning and sustainability. This study was conducted using a questionnaire that was randomly distributed to farmers to identify some features of the agricultural activities in Hail region and to serve as baseline data on agricultural practices. The questionnaire was divided into main topics including socio-economic status of farms, farm area, main crops, production systems, agricultural practices, financial support, and use of wind breaks, water conservation, animal husbandry and marketing. Some of the results showed that date palms and alfalfa fodder were found to be the main grown crops in addition to citrus, grapes, vegetables, wheat and Rye. In most cases, all these crops were cultivated in open fields, compared to only 18% grown in green houses. About half of the farmers adopted the monoculture system and only 44.9% of them applied the crop rotation. More than 70% of farmers raise animals and the most commonly reared animal are sheep (53.6%) followed by goats (23%), camels (18%) and poultry (4.5%). The study revealed that Hail region is an important agricultural area in KSA and some agricultural practices need to be revised and directed towards sustainability through extension programmes.