Olive and olive oil production in KSA

[al-Hasani]

The first automated harvesting system in Saudi Arabia

The Task: To optimise olive oil production in Al Jouf, northern Saudi Arabia

The Solution: National Agricultural Development Company was the first agricultural company to adopt the Super High Density Olive technology, pioneered in Saudi Arabia by Middle East Agricultural Company. Jouf Agriculture Development Company followed, as did Watania Agriculture Company, and since then more than 3 million olive trees have been planted.

MEAC introduced the technology for olive oil production as a strategic sustainable agriculture solution due to its efficient utilisation of water resources. This technology is fully aligned with the Kingdom’s strategy and related initiatives to encourage agriculture solutions that save water, encourage manpower efficiency, and ensure higher water productivity.

The Super High Density Olive technology was developed by MEAC’s strategic partner, Agromillora of Spain. It involves planting olive trees at high density like grapevines to allow for mechanical harvesting, and yields 1,500 plants per hectare compared to just 220 in the case of traditional olive plantations. As a result, as much as 80 percent of the water used by other olive oil extraction technologies is saved, while mechanical harvesting reduces 95 percent of the manpower required in traditional plantations and thereby eliminates the challenge of procuring unskilled labour resources. The technology also enables annual production, instead of alternate year production in the case of traditional plantations.

The gross income to farmers and investors is therefore multiplied eightfold, and financial returns come from the local and global market rather than from the government (which is the case for wheat).

- See more at: National Agriculture Development Company - Abunayyan Holding

 

[al-Hasani]

Al-Jawf region (along with most other areas of Northern KSA) seen below has a perfect climate for olive cultivation and the olive tree is a native tree too.

The province has enormous agricultural areas. Farmers in KSA should get more support from the state and olive trees should be planted in the millions. Al-Jawf Province alone has 15 million olive trees. Other regions should invest in this field too and export to the remaining world.

Farming dying slowly is a great crime.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Saudi, US academics team up to apply social farming in Hail​

Professors Joel Cuello and Kevin Fitzsimmons from the University of Arizona with Hail University officials. — Courtesy photo
​

Saudi Gazette report


HAIL — The University of Hail and University of Arizona is to work together to implement sustainable strategic social agriculture programs in the villages of Hail Province.

Social agriculture is an arrangement or strategy that provides village farmers with access to appropriate innovations to achieve economic profitability while fostering environmental sustainability.

In the short term, the collaboration aims to address specific agricultural challenges in a given village in Saudi Arabia, which would result in significant benefit to the village.

In the medium term, it will introduce sustainable agricultural development practices to promote income and healthy lifestyle for farmers in the rural areas to promote economic growth, alleviate poverty and enhance food security.

The long-term goal is to incorporate the sustainable strategic social agricultural program as part of the donations that Saudi Arabia gives to other countries. According to a recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report, Saudi Arabia has given Arab nations SR85 billion ($22.7 billion) in direct aid over 40 months.

Additionally, the joint collaboration will seek the participation of the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Bank in the future.

Spearheading the joint collaboration is Dr. Turki Faisal Al-Rasheed, an alumnus and adjunct professor at the University of Arizona’s department of agricultural and bio-systems engineering.

Al-Rasheed’s experience in this area includes writing on the Saudi experience of agricultural development strategies.

Rector of Hail University Dr. Khalil Bin Ibrahim Al-Ibrahim and Dr. Khalid Asiry, head of the university’s Sheikh Al-Jomaih Chair for Sustainable Development in Agricultural Communities, invited professors Joel Cuello and Kevin Fitzsimmons from the University of Arizona to visit them.

The main goal of the visit was to start implementing sustainable strategic social agriculture in Hail by selecting a pilot village.

The collaboration will work with the village to identify its most significant challenges such that, when addressed with a rather simple solution at a relatively low cost and over a moderate period of time, the village will experience a significant beneficial impact.

Farmers seeking the latest information on prices and crop conditions are also more likely to check their Twitter feed before calling their broker. ( )

Sustainable strategic social agriculture can help prevent the depopulation of the rural areas, alleviate poverty, provide opportunities for employment in the agricultural villages as well as help ensure a healthy lifestyle and standard of living, education and training and health services for the local population.

The joint collaboration is committed to reaching out to villages in Hail through sustainable strategic agriculture.

This program helps the University of Hail to attain its principal goals of assuming a leading position not only in education and research but also in community service and in innovation and development in support of the national economy.

During their two-day stay, the group visited various agricultural villages in Hail, including Bagaa, Al-Khutta, Jedaidha and Al-Jubbah, and spoke with the village farmers to determine the most significant challenges to their livelihood.

By directly communicating with local farmers in the villages, the group is now able to understand how best to address those challenges.

The group also held a meeting with selected stakeholders from the region to discuss the plans for piloting strategic social agriculture in Hail.

A pilot village was chosen and the initiative will be put into action. Improvements will be monitored and reported on in the coming months.

Saudi, US academics team up to apply social farming in Hail | Kingdom | Saudi Gazette

Almarai - the largest vertically integrated dairy company in the world​

Almarai - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Agricultural Achievements​

The 1970s marked the beginning of serious agricultural development in the Kingdom.

The government launched an extensive program to promote modern farming technology; to establish rural roads, irrigation networks and storage and export facilities; and to encourage agricultural research and training institutions.

The result has been a phenomenal growth in the production of all basic foods. With substantial amounts of meat, milk, and eggs, Saudi Arabia is now completely self-sufficient in a number of foodstuffs.

The increased food production brought about a proportional decline in food imports; and in fact Saudi Arabia now exports wheat, dates, dairy products, eggs, fish, poultry, vegetables and flowers to markets around the world.

Intensive dairy, meat, poultry and egg farming were all introduced early in the program, and already by 1985, local farms were satisfying domestic demand for many products previously imported. The Kingdom now has some of the most modern and largest dairy farms in the Middle East. Milk production boasts a remarkably productive annual rate of 1,800 gallons per cow, one of the highest in the world.

While fish production through traditional off-shore fishing has been constantly on the increase, the Kingdom is exploring ways of further increasing its catch and encouraging greater private investment.

One of the new areas in which the private sector is investing with government support is aquaculture. The number of fish farms, either using pens in the sea or tanks onshore, has been increasing steadily. Most are located along Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast. Shrimp farming has been particularly successful. The National Shrimp Company 'Al-Rubian', for example, has a farm south of Jeddah managed by Saudi hydro-biologists and marine engineers, whose shrimp, including the preferred black tiger, is exported mainly to the United States and to Japan.

The Kingdom's most dramatic agricultural accomplishment, noted worldwide, was its rapid transformation from importer to exporter of wheat. In 1978, the country built its first grain silos. By 1984, it had become self-sufficient in wheat. Shortly thereafter, Saudi Arabia began exporting wheat to some thirty countries, including China and the former Soviet Union, and in the major producing areas of Tabuk, Hail and Qasim, average yields reached 3.6 tons per acre.

In addition, Saudi farmers grow substantial amounts of other grains such as barley, sorghum and millet. Today, in the interest of preserving precious water resources, production of wheat and other grains has been considerably reduced.

The Kingdom has, however, stepped up fruit and vegetable production, by improving both agricultural techniques and the roads that link farmers with urban consumers. Saudi Arabia is a major exporter of fruits and vegetables to its neighbors. Among its most productive crops are watermelon, grapes, citrus fruits, onions, squash and tomatoes. At Jizan in the country's well-watered southwest, the Al-Hikmah Research Station is producing tropical fruits including pineapples, paw-paws, bananas, mangoes and guavas.

This agricultural transformation has altered the country's traditional diet, supplying a diversity of local foods unimaginable a few generations ago. Dates are no longer the vital staple for Saudi Arabians that they were in the past, although they still constitute an important supplementary food. Much of the annual production of dates, estimated at around half a million tons and comprising some 450 different kinds, is used as international humanitarian aid.

Several factories, including one in Al-Hasa, are dedicated entirely to the production of dates for foreign aid and donate tens of thousands of tons of dates each year to relieve famine and food shortages, mainly through the World Food Program (WFP) of the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Many countries have directly benefited from Saudi Arabia's food aid offered through the WFP, and the Kingdom is second only to the United States in contributions to the program.

Agricultural Achievements

@Halimi @JUBA @azzo @BLACKEAGLE @Full Moon

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Agricultural Achievements​

The 1970s marked the beginning of serious agricultural development in the Kingdom.

The government launched an extensive program to promote modern farming technology; to establish rural roads, irrigation networks and storage and export facilities; and to encourage agricultural research and training institutions.

The result has been a phenomenal growth in the production of all basic foods. With substantial amounts of meat, milk, and eggs, Saudi Arabia is now completely self-sufficient in a number of foodstuffs.

The increased food production brought about a proportional decline in food imports; and in fact Saudi Arabia now exports wheat, dates, dairy products, eggs, fish, poultry, vegetables and flowers to markets around the world.

Intensive dairy, meat, poultry and egg farming were all introduced early in the program, and already by 1985, local farms were satisfying domestic demand for many products previously imported. The Kingdom now has some of the most modern and largest dairy farms in the Middle East. Milk production boasts a remarkably productive annual rate of 1,800 gallons per cow, one of the highest in the world.

While fish production through traditional off-shore fishing has been constantly on the increase, the Kingdom is exploring ways of further increasing its catch and encouraging greater private investment.

One of the new areas in which the private sector is investing with government support is aquaculture. The number of fish farms, either using pens in the sea or tanks onshore, has been increasing steadily. Most are located along Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast. Shrimp farming has been particularly successful. The National Shrimp Company 'Al-Rubian', for example, has a farm south of Jeddah managed by Saudi hydro-biologists and marine engineers, whose shrimp, including the preferred black tiger, is exported mainly to the United States and to Japan.

The Kingdom's most dramatic agricultural accomplishment, noted worldwide, was its rapid transformation from importer to exporter of wheat. In 1978, the country built its first grain silos. By 1984, it had become self-sufficient in wheat. Shortly thereafter, Saudi Arabia began exporting wheat to some thirty countries, including China and the former Soviet Union, and in the major producing areas of Tabuk, Hail and Qasim, average yields reached 3.6 tons per acre.

In addition, Saudi farmers grow substantial amounts of other grains such as barley, sorghum and millet. Today, in the interest of preserving precious water resources, production of wheat and other grains has been considerably reduced.

The Kingdom has, however, stepped up fruit and vegetable production, by improving both agricultural techniques and the roads that link farmers with urban consumers. Saudi Arabia is a major exporter of fruits and vegetables to its neighbors. Among its most productive crops are watermelon, grapes, citrus fruits, onions, squash and tomatoes. At Jizan in the country's well-watered southwest, the Al-Hikmah Research Station is producing tropical fruits including pineapples, paw-paws, bananas, mangoes and guavas.

This agricultural transformation has altered the country's traditional diet, supplying a diversity of local foods unimaginable a few generations ago. Dates are no longer the vital staple for Saudi Arabians that they were in the past, although they still constitute an important supplementary food. Much of the annual production of dates, estimated at around half a million tons and comprising some 450 different kinds, is used as international humanitarian aid.

Several factories, including one in Al-Hasa, are dedicated entirely to the production of dates for foreign aid and donate tens of thousands of tons of dates each year to relieve famine and food shortages, mainly through the World Food Program (WFP) of the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Many countries have directly benefited from Saudi Arabia's food aid offered through the WFP, and the Kingdom is second only to the United States in contributions to the program.

Agricultural Achievements

@Halimi @JUBA @azzo @BLACKEAGLE @Full Moon @Falcon29

 

[Saif al-Arab]

KSA emerges as leading exporter of agri & dairy products​

Al Jouf olive oil had gained an excellent international reputation in the major olive oil markets in the world​

Last updated: Tuesday, September 01, 2015 12:16 AM

RIYADH – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has witnessed remarkable agricultural development over the last three decades, successfully turning large areas of desert into agricultural fields.

Currently KSA is a leading exporter of a variety of agricultural products including organic products and olives and oil as well as the dairy products, eggs, fish, poultry, fruits, vegetables, and flowers to the markets around the world.

Although KSA has large desert areas, it also boasts significant regions where the climate has favored agriculture.

The country has taken great strides in developing its agricultural sector by implementing major irrigations projects and adding previously barren areas to its stock of cultivatable land. Today, agriculture makes a substantial contribution to the KSA’s economy.

The city of Jouf is one of the cities that has been developed for its agricultural nature and has received special concern in planting olives as it has around 12,300,000 olive trees and the city of Jouf markets its production internally as well as internationally to some of the European and the Arab countries.

To reduce its dependence on the revenue earned from oil exports as the main source of income and to produce more food for its increasing population with a high standard of living, the KSA has been making intensive efforts, through its five-year development plans, to develop its agricultural sector.

Cultivated land in the KSA has dramatically increased because of government encouragement and financial aids and the country is presently witnessing an unprecedented exploitation of its agricultural potential.

The introduction of sophisticated technology and modern machinery and cultivation of new crops and different varieties have led to the establishment of the greenhouse industry and large agricultural projects.

This has not only improved KSA’s self-sufficiency but also the export of some products such as wheat, dates, watermelon, poultry, eggs and fresh milk.

Under the continued patronage and support of the KSA’s Ministry of Agriculture, Saudi Agriculture – the Middle East’s largest agriculture exhibition is conducted every year to support the industry by attracting exhibitors from the Middle East, Europe, the Americas and Asia in addition to local companies who will be displaying the latest agricultural products, services and equipment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The show’s visitors include high-ranking officials, major manufacturers, dealers, agents and distributors looking to explore partnerships and growth opportunities within the largest and fastest-growing agricultural market in the GCC region.

In contribution to the agriculture sector in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Agriculture Exhibition 2015 will be held on Oct. 11 to 14, 2015, at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center. Organized by the Riyadh Exhibitions Company, the show will be held concurrently with Saudi Agrofood 2015.

The Saudi Agriculture exhibition will be inaugurated by the Minister of Agriculture Abdulrahman bin Abdulmuhsen Al Fadhly.

The expo is supported by the ministry of agriculture and sponsored by Fakih poultry and Arasco as diamond sponsors and the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry is the expo’s strategic partner.

More than 350 specialized exhibitors from the Middle East, Europe, the Americas and Asia, in addition to local companies, will be showcasing the latest in agricultural products, services and equipment. — SG

Very encouraging news.

 

[[Bregs]]

nice achievement in agriculture Saudia where water is scarce

 

[Saif al-Arab]

nice achievement in agriculture Saudia where water is scarce

There are large areas of KSA that receive enough of rainfall. There are even tropical areas. After all KSA is the 12th biggest country on the planet. Most of KSA has an arid climate though.

If farmers do not waste too much water unnecessarily and the agricultural sector keeps ongoing modernizations/becomes more effective by each year there is no reason to why KSA cannot be a leading regional exporter of agricultural products as it has been for the past 3-2 decades since modern farming techniques were introduced on a wide scale.

Also one should not forget that there are huge underwater reservoirs in most of KSA and that the mountainous areas (over 40% of KSA's total landmass) are almost always providing water. Not to forget that KSA has the longest coastline along with Turkey in the MENA region. With technology constantly improving sea water will become much cheaper to use in agriculture and much more effective in the future as well.

 

[Ragnar]

Sad to see Özil picking olives..

 

[Arabian Stallion]

A very interesting video showing olive cultivation in the ancient Al-Jawf region.

Tons of other videos about agriculture in that region of KSA can be found below:

https://www.youtube.com/user/gladnews1/videos

The olive tree is native to Northern KSA as well.

Once again I can only repeat myself and state the importance of agriculture. Local food companies and farmers should receive more support from the state and from wealthy private investors. If we ever establish official ties with Israel which is next door, I am sure they could share their experience when it comes to agriculture. They have been very successful on this front. What do you think @500 ?

 

[MarkusS]

question to you guys...olives and its oil are supoer important in italy but we recently have a sickness in many of our tress which hurts the harvest.
Do you guys have the same problem?

 

[Arabian Stallion]

question to you guys...olives and its oil are supoer important in italy but we recently have a sickness in many of our tress which hurts the harvest.
Do you guys have the same problem?

Not that I am aware of. Although it probably happens occasionally like everywhere else. Goes for all crops. Yes, olives and olive oil has an importance in Arab culture and cuisine. We use it a lot. Olive trees are also native to our lands. I know that some Saudi Arabian investors have invested in the olive sector in Southern Italy and Italian farmers and experts have also gone to KSA to help our sector.

 

[MarkusS]

Not that I am aware of. Although it probably happens occasionally like everywhere else. Goes for all crops. Yes, olives and olive oil has an importance in Arab culture and cuisine. We use it a lot. Olive trees are also native to our lands. I know that some Saudi Arabian investors have invested in the olive sector in Southern Italy and Italian farmers and experts have also gone to KSA to help our sector.

my grandparents have a few trees in the garden.

Here teh probem is a fungus as far as i know. The tree throws off the olives too early which causes much damage. Some weaker trees can even die from it when other stress factors combine like to dry and hot ect.

We have extremly much olive trees and thats part of the problem. It jumps from tree to tree. We have much at streets so it spreads. The harvest in 2014 was extremly bad. All in italy but also at my grandparents. In 2015 was a bit better but the sickness is still there and it was 20% below normal. This year we have to see.

 

[Arabian Stallion]

my grandparents have a few trees in the garden.

Here teh probem is a fungus as far as i know. The tree throws off the olives too early which causes much damage. Some weaker trees can even die from it when other stress factors combine like to dry and hot ect.

We have extremly much olive trees and thats part of the problem. It jumps from tree to tree. We have much at streets so it spreads. The harvest in 2014 was extremly bad. All in italy but also at my grandparents. In 2015 was a bit better but the sickness is still there and it was 20% below normal. This year we have to see.

Let us hope that it will get better. Cultivation of any land is something to admire. Besides olive trees are very beautiful trees if you ask me. I have visited many parts of Italy so I am familiar with the emphasis you put on olives and olive oil. Similar to how we Arabs view it. After all we live not that far from each other. In fact we are neighbors.

Anyway to return to topic.

Olive farms in beautiful Al-Baha in Hijaz.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Bahah

I really love olives, olive oil and olive trees.

Also Saudi Arabian agricultural products have a very good reputation in the Arab world and much of the Muslim world. It would be a good thing if our products reached other markets as well to a greater degree.

As a sidenote, bananas and numerous other tropical fruits not found anywhere in the MENA region expect for Southern Arabia, also grow in various parts of KSA.

Southern Hijaz:

KSA has many hidden treasures.

More photos below:

https://www.aleqt.com/2015/03/14/article_939993.html

 

[Timur]

if they would create water from sea water then they could have plant more of everything they want