23 June 2012
Saudi Agricultural Bank is planning to pump SR 1.2 billion to boost the Kingdom's agricultural sector, according to an official.
Jaafar Al-Safwani, chairman of the committee for agriculture and fishery resources at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Eastern Province (Al-Sharqiya), said that the agricultural sector and farmers are eagerly waiting for the bank's announcement about details of its ambitious initiative.
According to the initiative, the bank will play a major role in regulating production and marketing of fruits and vegetables in the local market as well as in exporting them to various countries, Al-Eqtisadiah business daily reported yesterday.
Al-Safwani said the agricultural sector in the province was facing several challenges that had led to shrinking of the cultivated area of agricultural crops to a great extent.
He attributed this to the absence of a future development plan drawn up by the government agencies concerned with the participation of the private sector.
The official called for a plan to boost the agricultural sector in the province and increase the cultivated area.
According to Al-Safwani, there is no coordination between government agencies and the private sector in the province to pump investments into the agricultural sector in the best possible manner. "There are no major investors who are capable of establishing agricultural zones and companies in order to support the farmers. This has resulted in a sharp fall in the agricultural produce in the province," he said.
Al-Safwani cited the case of date palm trees as an example. The number of date palm trees in the province has fallen from three million to about 300,000.
Al-Safwani also blamed farmers for the dismal state of agricultural production. "There are some farmers who are still keen on cultivating crops only in certain seasons. This results in flooding the market with the same product like tomato, thus affecting prices due to a glut," he said, adding that this also affects other farmers badly.
Saudi Agricultural Bank is planning to pump SR 1.2 billion to boost the Kingdom's agricultural sector, according to an official.
Jaafar Al-Safwani, chairman of the committee for agriculture and fishery resources at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Eastern Province (Al-Sharqiya), said that the agricultural sector and farmers are eagerly waiting for the bank's announcement about details of its ambitious initiative.
According to the initiative, the bank will play a major role in regulating production and marketing of fruits and vegetables in the local market as well as in exporting them to various countries, Al-Eqtisadiah business daily reported yesterday.
Al-Safwani said the agricultural sector in the province was facing several challenges that had led to shrinking of the cultivated area of agricultural crops to a great extent.
He attributed this to the absence of a future development plan drawn up by the government agencies concerned with the participation of the private sector.
The official called for a plan to boost the agricultural sector in the province and increase the cultivated area.
According to Al-Safwani, there is no coordination between government agencies and the private sector in the province to pump investments into the agricultural sector in the best possible manner. "There are no major investors who are capable of establishing agricultural zones and companies in order to support the farmers. This has resulted in a sharp fall in the agricultural produce in the province," he said.
Al-Safwani cited the case of date palm trees as an example. The number of date palm trees in the province has fallen from three million to about 300,000.
Al-Safwani also blamed farmers for the dismal state of agricultural production. "There are some farmers who are still keen on cultivating crops only in certain seasons. This results in flooding the market with the same product like tomato, thus affecting prices due to a glut," he said, adding that this also affects other farmers badly.
© Arab News 2012
