Riyadh workshop puts spotlight on judicious use of water

A workshop on the judicious use of irrigation waters in agriculture closed sessions at the InterContinental Hotel, Riyadh, which was organized by the Agricultural Development Fund (ADF).
Addressing the workshop, ADF Board Chairman Abdullah Sulaiman Al-Rabaian said the agricultural sector has realized big achievements and enormously contributed to meet a considerable portion of food security in the Kingdom.
The agricultural sector has become a basic tool for development of many parts of the Kingdom but it faces a variety of challenges which necessitate creative ideas and solutions to develop this sector and change it into a productive sector, he said.
The ADF retains a flexible system and appropriate mechanisms aimed at realizing sustainable agriculture by addressing points of weakness existing in the sector, he was quoted by Saudi Press Agency.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Steering Group of the ADF initiative Eng Saad al-Swat said the initiative on the rationalized use of irrigation waters is considered one of the seven key initiatives launched by the ADF.
The initiative is aimed at implementing a decision of the Council of Ministers on raising the rate of assistance funds to those using modern irrigation methods from 25 percent to 70 percent, he said. The Initiative Group has been assigned to work out guidelines and mechanisms for providing assistance funds to be directly approved by the ADF, he said.
The initiative also aims to minimize use of water for other agricultural crops with the exception of wheat and fodders. Water consumption in agriculture is projected to hit 12.5 billion cubic meters in 2030, he said. However, plans are underway to shrink areas cultivated with wheat and fodder in a bid to reduce the current consumption rate of irrigation waters from 17 billion cubic meters to 5 billion cubic meters per annum, he said.
At the close of the sessions, the workshop issued a series of recommendations including the provision of a package of incentives to farmers in the form of assistance funds that account for up to 70 percent of the costs of modern irrigation systems in order to replace the existing traditional water-consuming systems. The volume of assistance will go in tandem with the volume of updates introduced in the irrigation systems.
The workshop also recommended that the national lab on the quality of irrigation systems be activated and that reports be prepared to determine farmers entitled for the assistance funds. It also stressed the importance of continued control and follow-up over the use of irrigation waters to ensure efficiency of water use through collection and analysis of information.