Bahrain, 26 - 28 September 2017
Dr. Khalid Al-Assaf – Director of Estidamah – strongly stressed the importance of protected cultivation in arid regions, mainly the GCC countries, in the 8th GPCA Fertilizer Convention, held under the theme ‘New beginnings: Return to growth’, from 26 to 28 September 2017, at The Ritz-Carlton, Bahrain.
Dr. Al-Assaf began his presentation with an overview of Saudi Arabia’s agricultural industry. He highlighted that the agricultural sector in Saudi Arabia provided around 30% of total food available in the Kingdom; securing the livelihoods of 900,000 employees. Some of the challenges facing the sector currently included low efficiency of production and marketing; low agricultural land use; high incidence of animal diseases and agricultural pesticide rate as well as low water use efficiency and reliance on scarce and non-renewable sources.
In light of these challenges, research and innovation could play a key role in offering a solution and the best way forward in overcoming the current obstacles to the sustainable agricultural industry in Saudi Arabia. Hence, the Sustainable Agricultural Research and Development Center (Estidamah), based at Riyadh Techno Valley, was established. Estidamah’s main objective is to achieve excellence in agricultural research in order to enhance national sustainable agricultural development, policies and practices.
As well, the center aims to promote the take-up and application of innovative technologies for increased productivity, water use efficiency, and to minimize pesticide use in Saudi Arabia’s agricultural sector.
The 9th GPCA Fertilizer Convention offered an exclusive insight into the likely impact of new market changes on fertilizer trade and highlighted the key drivers behind future growth. It delved into the topics of how to create a stable environment, to reinvent global distribution channels, to link business and innovation, and to learn about the latest technological advancements in the region and globally.