RIYADH: The Minister of Agriculture has said that the Kingdom imports food products at a cost of approximately SR4 billion every month. Fahd Balghunaim, speaking at a weekly social discussion group in the capital at the weekend, said that the “food and water balance” in the Kingdom “does not augur well for the coming years”. He said that his ministry's strategy to preserve water resources entails a reduction in wheat production and an increase in the produce of berseem fodder, while he described the Al-Jouf Olive Festival as “an extravagance of no benefit”. The minister also expressed his dissatisfaction with the nationwide work of the agricultural research centers, which have their headquarters in Riyadh. “One company donated 50 million dollars to set up a center for research into sustainable agriculture in the Kingdom, and the Kingdom has decided to establish an international council for dates which is expected to be up and running within a year,” Balghunaim said. “The countries involved have agreed to have the Kingdom as the location for its headquarters.” He said, however, that Saudi Arabia “does not want to go over the top in date production”. “Date palm trees consume a lot of water,” he said. “We don't have any real date production factories, only packaging plants. We only have one company which produces dates.” The minister declined to put a figure on the quantity of water accessible in the Empty Quarter desert, saying that the Ministry of Water is responsible for providing those numbers. “The Ministry of Agriculture's plan for water resources involves a number of measures, including improvements to irrigation and protecting water from pollution,” he said. “Water is one of the biggest challenges facing the Kingdom and the agricultural sector particularly. Emigration to the cities is continuing.”
