1958 - Agriculture

Agriculture

Iraq's new Qasim government shifts spending from agriculture to social programs such as health, education, and housing as it begins a program of land reform in a country whose land has been owned by just 15 percent of the rural population and 2 percent has owned 68 percent of the land. By early 1971 about 95 percent of that population will own land, but while Iraq this year is a net exporter of food and agriculture accounts for about 17 percent of its Gross National Product, she will soon become a net food importer and agriculture's share of her GNP will fall to 8 percent by 1980 as Iraq's population doubles from 7 million to nearly 14 million.

China's wheat crop reaches 40 million tons, 2 million more than the U.S. crop, and cereal grain production jumps 35 percent above last year's levels despite a poor rice crop, but total food production falls far short of estimates (see 1957). The dearth of food encourages peasants to neglect the grain crops of the collectives and raise vegetables and livestock which they can sell privately, if illegally (in some communes half the land is privately cultivated) (see 1959).

Hawaiian pineapple pioneer James D. Dole dies at his Honolulu home May 14 at age 80. He retired 10 years ago from the company that he founded in 1902; it now employs 3,500 people year round plus 7,800 in the packing season and produces 30 million cases of canned fruit and juice per year.