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Agriculture in Cyprus constituted the backbone of the country’s economy It mostly consisted of small farms, and sometimes even subsistence farms. The irrigation projects made possible to produce vegetable and fruit for exports. The farming activity is increasingly commercialized farming to meet the demands for meat, dairy products, and wine production as supliment to agro products such wheats from international export abroad.

In the early 1970s, Cypriot farms, still overwhelmingly small owner-run units, furnished about 70 percent of commodity exports and employed about 95,000 people, or one-third of the island’s economically active population. Given the expansion of the modern manufacturing and agro sectors, today the agriculture’s importance is increasing, and has contributed to the country’s Gross domestic product (GDP) amounted to more than18 percent.

Agriculture is a major contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and crucial food sector for the North Cyprus. Agricultural land covers 187,348.48 hectares (1,398,123 dunum) or 56.71 percent of the total land area of which about 7.5 percent is irrigated.

Ayşem Çelebi

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus enjoys possession of erable agricultural land that produced about quantity of citrus and cereal crops, green peppers, carrots, water melons, olive trees, and other vegetables. While the South retained nearly all of the island’s grapegrowing areas and potato crop addition to the livestock population.

The island’s favorable climate and its location near its leading market, Western Europe, however, meant that farming remains an important and stable part of the overall economy. Government irrigation projects, subsidies, and tax policies encouraged farming’s existence, as did research in new crops and new varieties of ones already in cultivation.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources oversaw efforts to improve agriculture, fishing, and forestry. Subordinate to this ministry and assisting it were, among others, the Agricultural Research Institute, the Veterinary Service, the Meteorological Service, the Department of Water Development, the Department of Forests, and the Department of Geological Survey have fall under.

In addition to macroeconomic considerations, the government encouraged agriculture because it providing rural employment, which maintained village life and relieved urban crowding. Small-scale agricultural activity prevented some regions from losing much of their population. Part-time agricultural work also permitted urban residents to keep in contact with their villages and gave them supplemental income.