PREFACE

One of the areas of excellence of the Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations (FAO) is to provide information covering aspects related to
its mandate areas. FAO is well known for the quality and quantity of information
provided to member countries and will continue to maintain its comparative
advantage on disseminating information related to food and agriculture.

This has been the case of information on date palm. As mentioned in the
Foreword, the present publication updates and complements technical information
included in two earlier FAO books on date palms: "Dates Handling, Processing and
Packaging" (1962), and "Date Production and Protection"(1982).

This book updates the existing information on aspects related to date palm
production, protection and a number of technologies available for the
implementation of a modern date palm industry. It covers a wide array of topics
of interest for a diverse clientele formed by researchers, extensionists,
farmers and agro-industrialists from all areas of the world where the date
industry is already established or where it has the potential to be
implemented.

The Crop and Grassland Service (AGPC) of FAO's Plant Production and
Protection Division is convinced that this publication is one more important
contribution for food production and income generation by different types of
farmers, especially those living in the less developed areas of the world. The
Service acknowledges the contributions provided by the authors and the
invaluable work of its Editor, Dr. Abdelouahhab Zaid, and its Coordinator, Mr.
Enrique Arias.

Marcio C. M. Porto
Chief
Crop and Grassland Service
Plant Production
and Protection Division
FAO