Page 483 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (IV)_Neat

V

75

As will be seen from the summary of market prices, the prices obtained for agricultural
products, in the main, can be very low indeed but when one considers that the price to the
grower is perhaps one-half and occasionally one-third of this it is easy to sec where the profits
go. Only a very small proportion of the local produce is sold direct from grower to public.
The great majority of it is purchased in bulk by oil companies and other organisations who,
because of the quantities involved, have, of necessity, to deal with contractors and it is these
contractors—there arc only three of importance—who reap good profits from the efforts of the
grower and who arc powerful enough to control the market. If there was some form of growers
co-operative with which these organisations could deal direct, the growers would obtain better
profits and the incentive to produce more would be achieved, and once this increased produc­
tivity had time to show itself there would be a greater surplus for export, which again would
mean better prices.
The present policy of the Bahrain Government to control strictly the export of vegetables
and fruit is a sound one from the national viewpoint. It ensures that there is a plentiful supply
of these commodities available in the local market at prices which the poor can afford, and if
control was not exercised it is certain that the majority of local produce would be exported to
Qatar and other parts of the Gulf where better prices are always obtained. At present, less
than 1 per cent, of local produce is exported, and the greatest part of this is tomatoes.
The growers have shown little interest in any form of agricultural co-operative perhaps
because it is too difficult for them to comprehend, but more likely because, being utterly
conservative, they do not believe in co-operation. At time of writing their only requirement is
for the Government to allow complete freedom of export for their produce, and this of course
could never be done.
TABLE 8
Summary of Market Prices for 1951
Min. Per Max. Per
lb. lb.
Beet 0 4 0 End March/Early April 0 12 0 Mid. December
Cabbage (each 0 4 0 Early April 1 0 0 End December
Cauliflower (each) 0 5 0 Mid. February 110 0 End December
Cat rot .. 0 1 0 Early March 1 12 0 Early May
Spinach .. 0 2 0 Mid-End March 0 6 0 End May
Turnip .. 0 2 0 Mid-End February 0 6 0 Irratic
Tomato .. 0 2 0 Early March 1 4 0 Mid-End June
Lettuce .. 0 3 0 Mid-End March 0 5 0 Early May
Lucerne .. 1 6 0 March 4 0 0 December/November
(mund) 0 4 0 April
Brinijal .. 0 4 0 November 0 14 0 Mid. March
Water Melon 0 4 0 July/Aug./Sept. 0 8 0 End April
Sweet Melon 0 5 0 Irratic 0 10 0 Mid. April
Okra (per 100) 1 0 0 October 2 4 0 May and June
\

VL The Livestock
Animal husbandry in its widest sense is not practised on Bahrain. For the most part
livestock are domestic and are tied up (or penned) and fed indoors. There are a few herds of
goats which roam the desert and appear-to live on the desert flora, but in fact they are fed
quite regularly with lucerne (the staple livestock feed and always hand fed). There is not, of
course, any grass growing naturally in the desert.
The livestock of importance which are bred and thrive on Bahrain are cattle, donkeys and
poultry of which only the latter suffer to any extent from disease, the most common being
Scaly Leg. No treatment is known locally for any of the poultry diseases and there does not
appear to have been any attempt to find any, so that the majority of the birds are in poor
condition and are poor layers. Some villages are particularly bad, for example Beni Jumra,
whereas the towns of Manama and Muharraq are less affected.