MAKKAH: Abdullah Al-Nashiri’s journey into agriculture began long before he planted his first mango tree. As a former teacher, with chalk in hand, he planted knowledge in the minds of his students, while his heart remained tied to a mango tree that had yet to be planted.
When he decided to leave teaching and devote himself to agriculture, he faced skepticism, including from his father, who doubted the venture would succeed. His early years as a farmer were marked by drought, limited experience and a series of setbacks that forced Al-Nashiri to step away for a time.
He returned stronger, surer of himself, and more determined than before.
FASTFACTS
• Support from mango festivals and cooperation with relevant authorities helped farmers organize and raise issues affecting the sector, Abdullah Al-Nashiri said.
• He recalls accompanying his father to the fields, watching him plow, sow and harvest, experiences that created a lasting connection to the land
Al-Nashiri’s story is one of perseverance, of falling and rising again, of a man who chose to write his own ending, no matter how difficult the beginning.
In an interview with Arab News, Al-Nashiri recalls the early moments that first rooted his love for agriculture, above all the memory of his late father, who made his living by cultivating crops including corn and millet.
He recalls accompanying his father to the fields, watching him plow, sow and harvest, experiences that created a lasting connection to the land.
“My mother wanted to secure water for the house and the livestock, and she would travel every day to a well five kilometers from the village,” Al-Nashiri said.
A pond was later built to collect water delivered by tankers, helping him develop his farming skills. His interest in agriculture continued to grow, supported by local agricultural festivals and the Saudi radio program “The Good Land.”
In the 1990s, his family drilled its first artesian well near their home, providing a more reliable source of water for farming.
With his father’s support, Al-Nashiri began cultivating corn and legumes before later expanding into mango farming, which was still relatively uncommon in the area at the time.
After their father’s death, Al-Nashiri and his brothers expanded the family farm. They secured legal ownership of additional land and began developing a broader agricultural project.
Al-Nashiri started with 200 mango trees and gradually expanded production, despite the challenges of the early years. Support from mango festivals and cooperation with relevant authorities helped farmers organize and raise issues affecting the sector, he said.
He focused on cultivating date palms, lemons, figs, and pomegranates, and obtained organic certification for his farm as he moved closer to realizing his vision of transforming it into a tourist farm and family resort.
Al-Nashiri’s farm now contains more than 1,500 trees. He praised the support provided by Hassan bin Ibrahim Al-Mu’idi, head of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture’s branch in Al-Qunfudhah, as well as the initiatives of the Makkah Province Development Authority, which helped advance his project.
Al-Nashiri expressed deep gratitude to everyone who has supported his journey so far, and added that he will continue to pursue the goals of the Saudi Green Initiative and to make agriculture an inseparable part of his identity.
