Thread:EmperorSigma/@comment-3030647-20131009104135

For the economy question:

"Sunagakure's economic status is stable, but not exactly very flourishing. This has been the case ever since its beginnings. Because Sunagakure is located on desert, it has very few agricultural products to export, and is a self-sustaining village using unique subsistence farming methods to maximize their crop yield without destroying it through chemicals and artificial methods. Following the war, their economic status had decreased considerably because of the loss of their desert oases, causing them to rely significantly on imports from other villages. This, like everything else, costed significant funding. However in the long-term, this promoted economic boost in regards to the export in standard Shinobi weaponry, most prominent of which was poisons; one of Sunagakure's most famed exports. This, and their unique puppet mechanisms, were greatly desired as a new, automatic method of surveillance without expending vital soldiers by many villages. 