The Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture celebrates today the Arab Agriculture Day, in parallel with the official celebration held at the headquarters of AOAD in Khartoum, Sudan, with this year’s theme focusing on the importance of rural development in the Arab region to achieving food security in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic
The Ministry has held an agricultural exhibition at a pilot farm in Al- Asha governorate and honoring participating rural farmers as part of the celebration.
The ceremony was attended by the Vice President of Operations at the Saudi Irrigation Organization, Eng. Abdelaziz Al-Rashoud and the Director of the ministry's Branch in Al-Ahsa, Eng. Ibrahim Al-Khalil. A seminar on rural agricultural development was also held to highlight its significant role in achieving food security and stable livelihood, as well as increasing income.
Dr. Sulaiman Al-Khateeb shed light on the importance of oases cultivation in rural areas, while both Dr. Mohammed Al-Nueran and Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Shuaibi discussed the rural development program in the Kingdom and the ministry's most notable achievements in this regard.
For his past, Dr. Ibrahim Aref discussed terraces cultivation in rural areas and its positive effect for achieving food security for the Kingdom.
The theme was chosen to highlight rural development, which is one of the key issues currently being discussed by international organizations, as it has proven to be vital for the economic viability during the emerging coronavirus pandemic. Governments around the world established laws and regulations supporting smallholder farmers and livestock keepers in rural areas to increase and diversify agricultural production, achieve sustainability and self-sufficiency, and reduce poverty.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has attached great importance to sustainable agricultural rural development over the past few years. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has inaugurated the Sustainable Agricultural Rural Development Program 2018-2025, supporting the Kingdom’s food security initiative with over SAR8 billion.
