The Burden of Wheat Self-Sufficiency in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia had long known that it had a weakness: Food. Seeking to end its dependency on food imports, Saudi Arabia in 1980 embarked on a massive self-sufficiency program fueled by oil money and fossil water. That program eventually focused on a single water thirsty crop: Wheat. Things got a bit out of control. In the mid-1980s and early 1990s, Saudi Arabia pumped more groundwater than oil. And 5% of the entire 1991 Saudi budget was being spent on growing more wheat than anyone can eat. In today's video, a noble policy with long-running water consequences.

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