Muneer Al-Sahli, Vice Chairman & GM, Agricultural Development Fund (ADF) • Interview

As a result of ADF’s many long-running initiatives, today the Kingdom has one of the largest storage capacities in the Middle East for wheat and flour and reliable food supply chains capable of meeting locals’ needs.

In what ways was ADF able to support its clients during the pandemic to contribute toward food security in Saudi Arabia?

During the pandemic, ADF announced three initiatives with an allocation of SAR2.5 billion in line with other national development fund subsidiaries to ensure the continuation for agricultural activities in Saudi Arabia. To ensure ample food supply to the Kingdom, ADF introduced the Funding Import of Agricultural Products for the Food Security Strategy, with an allocation of SAR2 billion in a combination of direct and indirect loans through commercial banks. This funding would assist companies with imports to meet the food security demand on essential crops such as rice, sugar, soybean, and corn. ADF also took proactive measures by allocating SAR150 million for loan rescheduling to assist SMEs and ease their burden in meeting their monthly repayments and SAR300 million for working capital loans to assist specialized projects in ensuring the sustainability of their projects. This initiative also aims to save jobs and ensure the sustainability of food supplies. This initiative comes under the framework of the urgent initiatives approved by the government to address the impact of COVID-19 and mitigate the economic impact on the private sector and its economic activities.

How has your outlook on food security changed during the pandemic?

Measures put in place to prevent or slow the spread of COVID-19 are disrupting the functioning of food supply chains. The Food Security Strategy, which was the result of institutional work that the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture (MEWA) started more than four years ago following the food crisis in Saudi Arabia in 2008, is reaping its fruits during the current crisis. In light of COVID-19, ensuring that the food system is more sustainable and resilient is now an even more urgent priority. MEWA has begun refining the strategies in recent years to combine more targeted overseas investments with the development of technology-backed production at home, particularly for vegetables, fruit, and fish, to ensure self-sustainability without affecting scarce natural resources such as water. The consistent supplies of the targeted crops and sensitive crops have become top priority. Emphasis has also been placed on strengthening the logistics and value chain through various program to ensure these crops reach consumers. In addition, MEWA has also built up strategic food reserves and invested in mills, logistics, and production facilities. Today, the Kingdom has one of the largest storage capacities in the Middle East for wheat and flour, with more than 3.3 million tons.

How is the ADF positioning itself in regard to Vision 2030 goals?

In agriculture, we have two major focuses: food security and overall sector development. We support food security with the help of the Ministry of Agriculture and MEWA. We also launched other programs such as the Rural Development Program whereby we provide loans for small farmers, thus creating jobs in the rural areas of Saudi Arabia. Currently, we are self-sufficient in some products such as eggs and dates. We are also in a solid position for poultry and dairy in general; however, we still have some challenges regarding water, so ADF’s role in the new food security strategy envisioned in the vision is to provide loans for infrastructure.

How will the ADF transform agricultural production in Saudi Arabia?

It takes more than funding to change people’s minds and the culture to adopt new technology. However, we work closely with other organizations to promote best practices in agriculture. The ministry has an initiative called the Saudi Gap in agriculture about how to best grow products in Saudi Arabia. This initiative will help farmers to implement more technology; on our end, we will provide increased funding. This is an incentive to change though it is still not easy. However, if we create positive examples, people will follow. We also need help from universities all around the country to promote best practices in agriculture using technology.