Doha, February 12 (QNA) - Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Saleh Abdulmohsen bin Dakhil described the 13th edition of the Qatar International Agricultural Exhibition (AgriteQ) as a strategic platform for unifying regional and international efforts to address food and water security challenges, noting that the Kingdom’s participation as Guest of Honor underscores its leadership in this sector.

In an exclusive interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), Dakhil said that the exhibition provides an opportunity to exchange expertise and success stories, and to showcase the Kingdom’s expertise in achieving record levels of self-sufficiency in strategic agricultural commodities, localizing modern technologies, attracting global investments and innovations, and enhancing integration within supply chains to ensure resilient trade exchange among countries in the region.

He highlighted that the cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Qatar includes overseas agricultural investment, exchange of expertise and technologies, and coordination in environmental initiatives such as the Middle East Green Initiative. It also encompasses the development of livestock, facilitating the movement of animals between the two countries, unifying veterinary quarantine procedures, cooperation in fertilizer production, saline agriculture research, and joint investment in food processing industries.

He pointed out that Saudi Arabia remains a global model in managing natural resources and achieving a balance between increasing production and preserving the environment through national water and agriculture strategies and the implementation of Saudi Vision 2030 targets, which include a focus on the use of treated water, cultivating crops with competitive advantages, water harvesting, increasing the number of dams, and encouraging private sector investment in agriculture.

The spokesperson further said that the Saudi Green Initiative aims to plant 10 billion trees and rehabilitate degraded land. To date, the Kingdom has restored more than 500,000 hectares and planted over 151 million trees as part of a plan to expand vegetation cover and combat desertification by 2030.

He noted that these efforts have contributed to Saudi Arabia recording the highest agricultural production levels in its modern history, with domestic agricultural output reaching SAR 118 billion and total food production approximately 12.5 million tons, alongside high self-sufficiency rates in dates, milk, vegetables, poultry, and fish. The Agricultural Development Fund also recorded its highest-ever lending level at more than SAR 7.1 billion, benefiting 14,000 individuals compared to only 1,300 nine years ago.

He emphasized that Saudi Arabia is working to strengthen agricultural innovation and modern technologies such as smart farming, the Internet of Things, vertical and hydroponic farming, and the use of artificial intelligence to predict plant diseases and manage supply chains, in support of Saudi Vision 2030’s goals of economic diversification and advancing the agricultural digital economy.

In concluding his remarks to QNA, the Official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia affirmed his country’s support for the future of Gulf integration in agriculture and food security, and for leveraging specialized exhibitions as platforms to encourage the Gulf private sector, open new markets for national products, facilitate trade exchange, ensure self-sufficiency for GCC countries, and expand exports to global markets. (QNA)