Call to set up firm for marketing local farmers’ products backed

Govt ready to back private investments in agriculture to boost food security

The outcomes of the visit of the Deputy Prime Minister, Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, to Hoorat A’ali and his meeting with a number of farmers have come under spotlight during the meeting of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry’s Undersecretary for Agriculture and Marine Resources, Dr Nabeel Mohammed Abu Al Fateh, here yesterday with a number of agricultural investors.

While receiving here Ahmed Bucheeri, Hesham Al Zayani and Abdulla Al Fahl, who have agricultural investments in Hoorat A’ali, the undersecretary was informed about the challenges facing Bahraini investors in the agricultural sector

He also discussed with them the idea of establishing a Bahraini company that supports the marketing of the products of Bahraini farmers

The company, which will be an umbrella for Bahraini farmers, would support efforts to achieve food security in the kingdom, regulate the marketing of Bahraini agricultural products and determine the products that are demanded in local market. Dr Abu Al Fateh expressed the Agriculture and Marine Resources Undersecretariat’s readiness to back the initiative, in line with the government’s interest in providing support for the private sector in order to enable it to launch projects aimed at achieving food security in the Kingdom.

Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Abdullah 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 requires taking care of the agriculture sector in the Kingdom in order to reach an advanced level in developing the areas of self-sufficiency, national capabilities 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 Agricultural Incubators Centre in A’ali, which is supervised by the Agriculture and Marine Resources of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry in cooperation with the National Initiative for Agriculture 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 contribute to develop their work and achieve desired benefit, especially 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 hydroponics, instead of using traditional methods at high cost.

The Undersecretary of Agriculture and Marine Resources at the Ministry of Works, Municipal Affairs and Urban Planning, Dr Nabil Muhammad Abu Al Fateh, revealed that the Bahraini farmers market in the Budaiya Botanical 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 visitors, while in the second week the market attracted 17,000 visitors.

  The Minister of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Essam Khalaf inaugurated the activities of the market with the participation of 38 Bahraini farmers.  The Undersecretary of Agriculture 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 development and diversification of its activities.

He pointed out that in the coming weeks, the farmers “market will witness various festivals, including 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 agricultural 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 agricultural sector in the Kingdom in co-operation with the National Initiative for the Development of the Agricultural Sector, and make it an important contributor to achieving sustainable food security.