An Example of Efforts to Increase Agricultural Output in the Ottoman Middle-East: the Irrigation Project of the Jaffa Valley

Abstract

In the 19th century, in regions that lay outside the agriculture lands along the shores of rivers in the Middle East, dry agriculture that was affiliated with seasonal precipitation was practiced. This situation meant that many productive lands were not farmed. The spread of agriculture production without being dependent on precipitation and an increase in production was only possible with a wide-ranging irrigation project. This paper takes as its basis the Middle East, which was limited in water resources and examines the irrigation projects that were developed for irrigated agriculture and gardening in Jaffa, a seaside Palestinian city; in addition, the concessions that were granted in this context will be examined. If we take into account that the conflicts affiliated with water sources in this region still continue today, the development of an irrigation project in a city like Jaffa, both from the aspect of the direction of state agricultural policies and for evaluating the settlement policies of the Jewish colonies, is extremely important.