Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Reef program has contributed in increasing the number of women participation in the rural activities, as the number of rural women in the labor market has reached to about 50,000 during 2023, the Deputy Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Eng. Mansour Al-Mushaiti confirmed.

He stated that the direct support' value provided for the sectors which the Sustainable Agricultural Rural Development Program (Reef) is targeting has exceeded SR435 million in 2023.

Eng. Al-Mushaiti made the statements during launching the first interactive control panel for agricultural subsidies, via the electronic business intelligence platform (BI-Power), in the workshop that was held at MEWA's headquarters in Riyadh, entitled (The Impact of Saudi Reef Program).

The first interactive panel for agricultural subsidies covers three main sectors, including small-scale livestock farmers, poultry producers, and the fish farming sector.

Eng. Al-Mushaiti said that the launch of the e-platform comes as a continuation for MEWA's efforts in applying the digital transformation in its different sectors which comes in line with the goals of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 to develop the electronic government, and also from its keenness on applying the highest standards of experience and satisfaction of beneficiaries through improving the data's quality in the Ministry's sectors, and taking proactive measures to address challenges, and increasing transparency and digital participation.

From his side, the Secretary General of Reef program, Eng. Ghassan Bakri, indicated that the program has contributed in achieving the food security, and self-sufficiency for some agricultural products.

He indicated that the production quantities during 2023 reached 350,537 thousand tons, by diversifying the productive base of agriculture, and supporting 70 diverse products. This has contributed in improving the income and standard of living of small farmers, in addition to providing many job opportunities.

The Reef program has also contributed in supporting the efforts of preserving the environment and the natural resources, as it has targeted this year to plant 18 seedlings in an area of more than 150,000 hectares.

It is noteworthy that the Reef Program aims to improve the agricultural rural sector to raise the level of living for the small farmers and the rural families, as well as to increase the efficiency and productivity.

It also works to improve the lifestyle and the food security, in addition to developing several sectors to strengthen the capacity of small agricultural producers, their cooperatives and rural enterprises, in order to enable them to obtain productive resources, agricultural services and access to markets.