New agriculture program to secure 19% of Saudi food needs by 2025-end: official

The Saudi sustainable rural agricultural development program seeks to secure 19 percent of the Kingdom’s food needs by the end of 2025, Mansour Al Mushaiti, Deputy Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, told Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper on Wednesday.

The food security will be achieved through applying sound agricultural practices to ensure high productivity and quality.

The Kingdom has allocated SAR 12 billion for the seven-year program, including SAR 7 billion for farm development.

A total of SAR 1 billion will be invested over the first year of the program, with another SAR 1.5 billion injected in enhancing farms’ infrastructure, Al Mushaiti said.

On the other hand, Ahmed Al-Eyada, the ministry's undersecretary, said the new scheme will provide a minimum of 35,000 jobs in the next seven years.

Yesterday, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman today launched the sustainable rural agricultural development program, targeting eight business sectors, Argaam reported.