COMCEC Agriculture Outlook 2017
27
Brunei Darussalam have relatively high levels of water resources per hectare of agricultural
land. They are followed by Guyana, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Sierra Leone, Indonesia, Gabon,
Cameroon, and Albania.
Table 7. Renewable Water-Rich OIC Member Countries (2013-2017)
Top Ten Renewable Water-Rich Country
Renewable Water Resources Per
Hectare (m3 /ha)
1 Suriname 1,192,771.1
2 Brunei Darussalam 634,328.4
3 Guyana 161,501.8
4 Bangladesh 134,465.8
5 Malaysia 74,843.5
6 Sierra Leone 39,052.6
7 Indonesia 35,734.5
8 Gabon 32,170.5
9 Cameroon 29,035.9
10 Albania 25,139.4
Source: FAOSTAT
On the other hand, 19 countries have less than 1,000 m3/ha renewable water per hectare of
agricultural land. Table 8 shows that Saudi Arabia, Libya, Yemen, Kuwait, Djibouti, Algeria,
Mauritania, Somalia, Sudan and United Arab Emirates are the top ten Renewable Water-Poor
Countries.
Table 8. Renewable Water-Poor OIC Member Countries (2013-2017)
Top Ten Renewable Water-Poor Country
Renewable Water Resources Per
Hectare (m3 /ha)
1 Saudi Arabia 13.8
2 Libya 45.6
3 Yemen 89.2
4 Kuwait 131.6
5 Djibouti 176.3
6 Algeria 281.7
7 Mauritania 287.4
8 Somalia 333.1
9 Sudan (former) 335.4
10 United Arab Emirates 377.8
Source: FAOSTAT
In addition to current water potential, the other important water resource is precipitation.
Precipitation provides soil with moisture that is a crucial factor for productivity in agriculture.
Looking at precipitation in OIC member countries, it is understood that most of them have
average precipitation less than 500 mm per year implying high prevalence of aridity.
Especially, most of the 20 countries in the Arab Group have less than 500 mm precipitation
level except for Comoros and Lebanon. On the other hand, 19 countries possess more than
1,000 mm average long-term precipitation annually. Of these countries, Malaysia, Brunei,
Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, Guyana and Suriname receive over 2,000 mm.