Jobs push for Bahrainis in agricultural sector

BAHRAIN AGRICULTURE

More than 1,400 Bahrainis are actively rooting from new jobs in the agricultural sector, it has emerged ... with 36 of them holding a bachelor’s degree in Biology Science.

The latest statistics, updated in November last year, also highlighted that a total of 1,583 people were currently employed in various specialties – 108 Bahrainis and 1,475 expatriates.

Of those Bahrainis 22 per cent are women and 78pc are men while 93pc of expats are men and 7pc women.

Details of job-seekers and an oversight of the current workforce were revealed by the recently-launched online platform – www.agro.bh – which is a comprehensive database gathering agricultural sector data and statistics in Bahrain.

“AgroBH can be used as an essential tool to determine trends in the agriculture sector by viewing agricultural publications and research, climatology, soil, water and agriculture sector employees’ data,” said the National Initiative for Agricultural Development (NIAD) on the official website.

“Agricultural workers and employees provide expertise and services for the agricultural sector and they can be called upon to provide knowledge, train others and carry out agricultural projects.

“Land cover, agricultural zones and agriculture land use management data can also be accessed in order to make well-informed high-level decisions.”

Those currently employed in the sector include environmental health and protection engineers, agricultural engineers, technicians, botanists, biologists, biochemists, bacteriologists, pest control specialists, specialist dieticians and teachers.

They also include farmers, horticulturists – experts in garden cultivation and management, inspect and malaria control, date palm farmers, agronomists, soil specialists, traditional pharmacists, farm workers, gardeners, basket makers, and herbal water makers, among others.

“There are a total of 634 individuals employed in the agro services sector of which 388 are Bahraini (36pc female and 64pc male) and 246 expatriates (12pc female and 88pc male),” added NIAD on the official website regarding the statistics provided by the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) and the Social Insurance Organisation (SIO).

Occupations

“These professions include architects and engineers, town planners, landscape and aesthetic architects, Geographic Information System (GIS) programmers and senior environmental specialists.

“Meanwhile, there are a total of 138 individuals working in the animal and wildlife sector of which 11 are Bahrainis and 127 are expatriates.

“These occupations include zoologists, technicians, animal specialists, veterinarians of various specialties, teachers, livestock farmers, falcon keepers, laboratory technicians, animal keepers, cattlemen, animal breeders, dairy and poultry farmers, beekeepers, incubator and hatchery operators and bird hunters.”

According to the official statistics, there are a total of 12,065 individuals employed in the food and beverage sector of which 402 are Bahrainis and 12,663 are expatriates.

These occupations include cheese makers, butter makers, ice-cream makers, bakers, kneaders, technical bakers, chocolate makers, confectioners, and coffee roasters and millers as well as food processors and fish cutters and cleaners.

Meanwhile, of the 739 individuals employed in the marine sector, 704 are expatriates (1pc females and 99pc males) while 35 are Bahrainis (9pc females and 91pc males) with occupations that include marine biologists, fisheries specialists, fishmongers, marine officers, fishermen and hunters, crew members, pearl divers and divers, as well as fish keepers and fishing net makers.