Saudi Arabia’s Sustainable Agricultural Rural Development Program (Saudi Reef) is looking to significantly boost the nation’s coffee production industry with the introduction of its first sub-program dedicated to boosting the crop’s rise as a cash commodity.
The program, which is being implemented in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will develop the production, manufacturing, and marketing of Saudi coffee.
The coffee sector is one of eight agricultural programs supported by Saudi Reef, which aims to develop food security, crop diversification, and livelihood improvement of smallholder farmers and producers in the region.
It aims to boost annual coffee production almost tenfold by the end of the year – from 800 tons to 7000 tons – and increase self-sufficiency from 0.5 per cent to 4.4 per cent in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.
Saudi Reef Spokesperson Majed Al-Buraikan says the coffee development program is designed to integrate Saudi coffee into the agricultural crop structure as an essential cash crop and as a means of diversifying the production base.
He adds the initiative seeks to boost self-sufficiency, reduce coffee imports, add value through diversified processing and marketing, and improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and producers by increasing their income and creating employment opportunities for youth in production areas and across the value chain.
Previously, Saudi Reef has laid out targets to plant 50,000 coffee seedlings and boost the productivity of existing crops by 30 per cent by the end of 2025.
