His Excellency Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, Eng. Abdulrahman Alfadley participated at the Saudi-Arab-African Economic Conference held in Riyadh.
During the Strengthening Cooperation to Safeguard Regional & Global Food Security Session, Alfadley stressed that the Kingdom's strategic location provides it with many opportunities to build global alliances with South American and East African countries to invest in the fields of food industry, livestock, agriculture, import and re-export, indicating that the Kingdom's markets aim to increase investments in poultry, fish, meat, vegetables and fruit products. Saudi Arabia can produce over 600,000 tons of fish and increase export productions.
Alfadley said: "In the past, loans from the Agricultural Development Fund started at SR 500 million but have now escalated to SR 8 billion. This increase indicates a growing attractiveness of investment in agriculture."
His Excellency stated that a well-defined plan must be developed immediately, considering factors such as supply, demand, and population growth to ensure adequate worldwide food provision. He also said the world confronts common challenges in ensuring healthy and safe food for the population, expected to reach 10 billion people. Also, is important to strike a balance between achieving sustainable food production and addressing the challenge of water scarcity.