Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The Sustainable Agricultural Rural Development Program (Reef), which is supporting more than 63,000 agricultural projects in Saudi Arabia in 2023, has revealed that the self-sufficiency rate in the value-added sector rose to more than 63%.

Reef, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA), indicated that its initiatives contributed to ensuring stable local food supplies by increasing and diversifying agricultural production. This led to stability in the local markets and relative stability in prices, which in turn reduced the negative effects of fluctuations in the prices of foodstuffs globally.

The Reef initiatives helped develop several agricultural crops that contributed to filling the shortage in emergency situations, in addition to facilitating access of small farmers to food. This was done by improving the standard of living and the nutritional value, in addition to diversifying the sources and components of consumed food and ensuring its safety, and maintaining a stable supply.

In an infographic that Reef published on social media, it explained the achievement of high self-sufficiency rates in several sectors, including the Saudi coffee sector, where it achieved a self-sufficiency rate of 16% by producing 1,009 tons in 2023. The target for 2026 is 7,000 tons.

As for self-sufficiency in the fruit sector, Reef revealed that it reached 22% with a production of 90,000 tons, which is expected to hit 305,000 tons in 2026. While the roses and aromatic plants sector achieved a 33% self-sufficiency rate with the planting of 651 million roses. As for the 2026 target, Reef indicated that it is 2 billion roses.

Reef contributed to the honey sector achieving a self-sufficiency rate of 49%, with the production of 3,748,000 tons in 2023, while production is expected to reach 7,500,000 tons in 2026.

The infographic also included the rain-fed crops sector, which achieved a self-sufficiency rate of 13% by producing 27,000 tons in the current year, and it is expected that 195,000 tons will be produced in 2026.

Reef contributed to achieving food security and self-sufficiency for some agricultural products, as production quantities in 2023 reached 350,537,000 tons by diversifying the productive base of agriculture.

This is in addition to the program's support for 70 diverse products, which contributed to improving the income and standard of living of small-scale farmers by achieving social stability and creating job opportunities. Reef also supported efforts to preserve the environment and natural resources. In 2023, it aims to plant 18 million seedlings in an area of ​​more than 150,000 hectares.