Government has adopted several measures to develop agriculture, fisheries and animal production, and will welcome investors, said Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Fahd Bin Abdul Rahman Balghunaim on Saturday. He urged investors to work hand-in-hand with the ministry to help solve all the problems facing the sector. He said investors should form consortiums to save time and money and the ministry was open to support any initiative that would serve the agricultural sector. Balghunaim made these comments at a meeting with investors organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Eastern Province. Also present at the meeting was Abdul Rahman Bin Rashid Al-Rashid, the chamber's chairman. Barely The minister explained that the government-ordered subsidy for barley production was instituted when there was a drastic shortage worldwide. However, the situation has now changed with a considerable increase in barley production. Government has, therefore, abolished the subsidy, he said. Another factor taken into account in the ministry's decision was that researchers found that excessive consumption of barley harms animals. He pointed out that an alternative is to use integrated fodder containing vitamins, salt and minerals that can be added to the barley. He said government has been monitoring prices of fodder on international markets and would introduce a subsidy if needed. “But there is no need now for the subsidy. It should be borne in mind that sometimes the hike in the price of fodder can be attributed to malpractices by some distributors.” He said illegal price hikes can be countered if more cooperative societies are formed to take over distribution. He said that government does not encourage the cultivation of fodder and wheat because these crops consume lots of water. Instead, these crops are being imported. The minister said that very few land areas set aside for agriculture, and still for sale, are currently being used. “Out of four million hectares of land granted all over the Kingdom, only 900,000 hectares are being used,” he said. Poultry Balghunaim stressed the importance of setting up more poultry farms especially in the light of the growth in imports to 500 million chickens annually. He said some poultry producers are not abiding by government's hygiene conditions and are not getting rid of poultry waste properly. He said the ministry will impose severe fines on violators who do not follow health requirements. Fines could be as high as SR200,000. There is also the possibility that the ministry may close down some of the poultry projects if there are repeated violations. Balghunaim rejected allegations that the ministry allows the importation of chickens fed with substances prohibited by Islam. “The countries which export chickens to the Kingdom are visited from time to time by our representatives to make sure that all the chickens conform to Saudi specifications.” Animal health The minister said the ministry has allocated about SR40 million to provide medicines and vaccines for animals in the Kingdom. The ministry has a center for the production of veterinary viral vaccines. He added that the ministry is in the process of opening a new center for the production of bacterial vaccines which will save a lot of money. Not enough medicines are currently being distributed by the agricultural directorates, therefore animal breeders are bearing the responsibility for securing medicines, he added. Mangrove Balghunaim said the ministry has increased the cultivation of mangrove trees on the Saudi coastline because of its importance for the marine environment. “The ministry has cultivated thousands of mangrove saplings in areas which have been carefully selected, and has also supplied Saudi Aramco with thousands of these saplings.” He said this was in addition to the ministry's efforts to create artificial coral reefs. Fishing Balghunaim said fishing docks are important, but there were very few in the Kingdom. He said the ministry is now giving permits only to Saudis to work at sea. In other words, the owners of fishing boats and the workers should be Saudis. He said the ministry has drafted legislation to regulate fishing and has fixed certain seasons for prawn or shrimp fishing. There is also legislation regulating the fishing of plectropomus macalatus, the species of coral trout known locally as Najil fish.
