‘Shortage of water adversely affecting agriculture expansion across Bahrain’

Ways of employing smart agriculture techniques to increase efficiency and productivity and achieve food security remained the focus as the Kingdom marked Arab Agriculture Day on September 27.

Dr. Abdulaziz Mohammed Abdulkarim, the Assistant Undersecretary for Agriculture Affairs at the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning, said expansion of agriculture using latest technologies has been one of the top priorities of the government.

“The Works Ministry has been keen to attach great importance to the agricultural sector in addition to providing the necessary support to farmers as part of the efforts of the Kingdom to improve food security. “However, the agricultural sector in Bahrain continues to maintain its position, due to the government’s keen interest in this vital sector.”

He pointed out that the main challenges facing the agricultural sector in the Kingdom are the scarcity of agricultural land and salinization of soil and lack of water. “The department has been trying to overcome these challenges by adopting agricultural technological methods such as hydroponics and aquaponics as well as modern irrigation techniques and all of them have proved successful.”

Dr. Abdulkarim said that the agricultural sector is constantly developing locally, regionally and globally, thanks to modern technologies in the use of alternative energy sources such as solar energy, the expansion of treated water use, plant varieties tolerant to salinity and drought, in addition to biotechnology in improving plant genetic traits, and methods of control agricultural pests and methods of monitoring through remote sensing systems.