Food security ‘top priority’

Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Abdul - lah Al Khalifa, the Head of the Ministerial Committee for Development and Infrastructure Projects emphasised that food security file tops the list of the Ministerial Committee priorities with the aim of implementing the Royal directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to achieve this goal.

“Achieving food security re - quires taking care of the agri - culture sector in the Kingdom in order to reach an advanced level in developing the areas of self-sufficiency, national capabili - ties in the field of food industries, raising the percentage of local production and preserving the experience of the professionals,” he said.  

Shaikh Khalid visited the Ag - ricultural Incubators Centre in A’ali, which is supervised by the Agriculture and Marine Re - sources of Works, Municipali - ties Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry in cooperation with the National Initiative for Agricul - ture Development (NIAD) chaired by Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Wife of His Majesty the King, and President of the Supreme Council of Women (SCW).

Deputy Premier heard the farmers’ proposals that will con - tribute to develop their work and achieve desired benefit, especial - ly with regard to marketing, such as giving preference to the local vegetable product, providing basic facilities and services and infrastructure works in a high horizon, and creating appropriate factors for them that enable them to apply the latest agricultural technologies, such as hydropon - ics, instead of using traditional methods at high cost.

The Undersecretary of Agri - culture and Marine Resources at the Ministry of Works, Municipal Affairs and Urban Planning, Dr Nabil Muhammad Abu Al Fateh, revealed that the Bahraini farm - ers market in the Budaiya Botan - ical Garden attracted a total of 28,000 visitors during its first and second week.  He explained that the first week of the launch of the market witnessed an influx of 11,000 visi - tors, while in the second week the market attracted 17,000 visitors. 

The Minister of Works, Munic - ipalities Affairs and Urban Plan - ning Essam Khalaf inaugurated the activities of the market with the participation of 38 Bahraini farmers.  The Undersecretary of Agri - culture and Marine Resources said that the remarkable presence of both Bahrainis and expatriates at the market reflects the success achieved by it, which constitutes an impetus towards further de - velopment and diversification of its activities.

He pointed out that in the com - ing weeks, the farmers “market will witness various festivals, in - cluding the tomato festival, the berry festival, and others”. He stated that the farmers’ market has become an important platform for Bahraini farmers to display their farm products and market them to the public. “It has become an avenue towards more competition among farmers to introduce the latest systems in agriculture, in order to produce new types of different local agri - cultural products.”

Mr Abu Fateh affirmed that the market comes in the context of the constant concern of the Agriculture and Marine Resources Agency to advance the agricul - tural sector in the Kingdom in co-operation with the National In - itiative for the Development of the Agricultural Sector, and make it an important contributor to achieving sustainable food security.