IHSA, SAUDI ARABIA, MAY 5, SPA -- ON BEHALF OF CROWN PRINCE SULTAN BIN ABDULAZIZ, DEPUTY PREMIER, MINISTER OF DEFENSE AND AVIATION AND INSPECTOR GENERAL, PRINCE BADR BIN MOHAMMED BIN ABDULLAH BIN JULUWE, GOVERNOR OF AL-IHSA PROVINCE, OPENED HERE TODAY THE 4TH PALM TREE SYMPOSIUM, ORGANIZED BY IHSA-BASED KING FAISAL UNIVERSITY IN COLLABORATION WITH THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE. DURING THE SYMPOSIUM, MORE THAT 200 RESEARCHES WERE TO BE PRESENTED TO DISCUSS ISSUES PERTAINING TO WAYS OF PROTECTING PALM TREES FROM EPIDEMICS AND INCREASING THEIR PRODUCTIVITY. IN A KEY ADDRESS, THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE DR. FAHD BIN ABDULRAHMAN BALGHUNAIM SAID THERE ARE 23 MILLION PALM TREES IN THE KINGDOM PRODUCING NEARLY 970,000 TONS WORTH SR5.5. BILLION YEARLY. HE SAID THE CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES KING ABDULLAH BIN ABDULAZIZ HAS ORDERED THE INCREASE IN THE MINISTRY'S PURCHASED QUANTITIES FROM DATES FARMERS FROM 21,000 TO 25,000 TONS. BALGHUNAIM ALSO ANNOUNCED THE DONATION OF SR 5 MILLION BY CROWN PRINCE SULTAN TO AL-IHSA-BASED AL-NAKHLA COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION. EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE 58 DATES PROCESSING FACTORIES IN THE KINGDOM, THERE IS STILL NEED TO EXPAND THE PALM TREE PRODUCTS AND BY-PRODUCTS INDUSTRY, THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE SAID. ON HIS PART, THE GOVERNOR OF AL-IHSA SAID THE KINGDOM'S DATES PRODUCTION REPRESENTS 13 PERCENT OF THE WORLD'S TOTAL PRODUCTION WITH THE KINGDOM DONATING A GREAT DEAL OF IT TO THE UN WORLD FOOD PROGRAM.
