Farmers are enraged with the shortage of diesel which is affecting their agricultural produce. Farmers use diesel to pumping water from wells to irrigate their crops. Consequently crops are drying up in many farms and it being the peak season insufficient water is being pumped. Dates in particular are being affected because they require a lot of water early in their development stages. Farmers and landowners from Al-Qassim and Hail regions intend to file a complaint and seek compensation from companies which have exacerbated the crisis.. “Saudi Aramco tops the list of companies that will be asked to pay compensation,” said Abdul Aziz Bin Abdullah Al-Twaijri, Deputy Chairman of the National Committee for Dates and Date Palms in the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Arabic daily Al-Watan reported. Al-Twaijri said the Kingdom faced no shortage of oil but it was the company's incompetence and lack of transparency, which is behind this crisis at a time, considered to be the golden season for producing dates. Date farmers could face a large loss of crops if the water problem is not remedied “Date farmers lost half of their crops in winter and the second half is being destroyed by Saudi Aramco due to its improper actions,” he said. The Al-Qassim area was hit with unseasonably low temperatures, which caused frosting and snow in many parts of the region. He called on the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Agriculture to investigate the crisis and hold those responsible, accountable. He also called on Saudi Aramco to supervise all fuel distributors contracted by it. “Aramco needs to ensure that fuel is legally sold and that all black markets are closed down.” “Some farmers have given up cultivation due to the current situation, which has created an imbalance in the supply-demand ratio,” said Muhammad Bin Saleh Al-Salman, an agricultural landowner. “This may result in a tremendous hike of agricultural products' prices.”
