RIYADH: At least 40 entities from the public and private sectors in the Kingdom have signed up with the newly organized Saudi Alliance for Agricultural and Food Technologies, with the aim of coming up with solutions to increase efficiency and abundance in agricultural and food products, and achieve safe and sustainable supply chains.
Deputy Minister Mansour bin Hilal Al-Mushaiti of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) led the launch on July 3, 2024 in Riyadh, according to a report of the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The alliance’s founding partners include the Research, Development and innovation Authority.
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST); and Topian, a subsidiary of NEOM, as founding partners.
Also signing up were major local companies in the agriculture and food production sector, companies providing advanced technologies in the agricultural field, a number of universities and research centers, financing and investment funds and companies, and non-profit organizations.
“The alliance aims to create a community of those interested in the agricultural and food technology sector, contribute to building bridges between actors in this sector, and build an integrated network that stimulates the dissemination of agricultural food technologies at the national level,” the report said.
In a speech during the launching ceremony, Al-Mushaiti challenged the participants to push forward their research and innovation efforts to help the Kingdom achieve its ambitious national goals.
He explained that “the compass of the Kingdom’s vision today is moving towards achieving sustainability, through a sustainable environment that preserves natural resources and achieves sustainable water and food security.”
Al-Mushaiti took the occasion to point out that the national strategies adopted by MEWA had paved the way for many successes, including an increase in local agricultural production’s contribution of 109 billion riyals ($29 billion) to the Kingdom’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2023, the highest ever contribution of the sector, said the report.
With the various entities under one roof now, Al-Mushaiti said he hopes to see the figures further increasing as participants step up their contributions in finding sustainable solutions to challenges facing the agriculture and food sector, especially in light of the increasing local and global demand for food and disruptions to global supply chains.
