SAUDI ARABIA TURNING THE DESERT INTO FARMLAND.

When most of us think of the Middle East and Saudi Arabia, we think of scorching sun, endless ocean of sand dunes, and one of the inhospitable climates on Earth, that wasn’t the case in the not-so-distant past. About 10000 years ago and before it was a place of rolling grasslands, forests, and jungles watered by torrential monsoon rains just like in tropical southeast Asia. Thanks to huge water resources deep beneath, Saudi Arabia could be able to transform desert into farmlands. Agriculture in Saudi Arabia is focused on the export of dates, dairy products, eggs, fish, poultry, fruits, vegetables, and flowers to markets around the world as it has achieved self-sufficiency in the production of such products.The government of Saudi Arabia is heavily involved in the agriculture industry and subsidizing corporate farming and the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture is primarily responsible for the agricultural policies in the nation. The private sector also plays a role in the nation’s agriculture, as the government offers long-term interest-free loans and low-cost water, fuel, electricity, and duty-free imports of raw materials and machinery.

Although Saudi Arabia is widely thought of as a desert, it has regions where the climate has favoured agriculture. Rain falls in winter every year in Saudi Arabia but with an average of maximum 100mm except in the Southern area of the country. The government, in particular, has aided with this process by converting large areas of desert into agricultural fields. By implementing major irrigation projects and adopting large-scale mechanization, this has progressed in developing agriculture in the country, adding previously barren areas to the stock of cultivatable land