III.

Economy

With a hot, arid climate, and composed mostly of rocky and sandy soils, the region is only marginally suitable for sedentary agriculture; less than 20 per cent of the area is cultivated. Sheep, goats, and camels are raised, mainly by Bedouin and Berber nomads. Fishing is important on the coast; dried fish are exported. Western Sahara has enormous deposits of phosphates—used as fertilizers and in some detergents—found notably at Bu Craa, south-west of El Aaiún, which is linked to the coast by a conveyor belt 29 km (18 mi) long. Exploitation of the deposits began in the early 1970s, but is hampered by the shortage of water.