Sandstorms destroy 40% of EP crops

Farmers in the Eastern Province say they have lost 40 percent of their crops because of the sandstorms last week, with fears that the cold snap over the past few days would cause further losses.
Abbas Dahi, an investor, said most of the farms in the Eastern Province were affected because the dust destroyed the produce-bearing flowers on plants and trees.
He said it is expensive to counteract the sandstorms because large amounts of water is needed to wash off the plants and trees. Most farmers prefer to leave them covered with dust until they wither and die, or grow again.
Dahi said open fields have been affected, not greenhouses. Removing damaged trees takes time and increases production costs, especially now because of the cold weather. The best option for farmers is to leave their crops as they are, he said.
He said eggplant, tomato and beans fields were severely affected by the recent sandstorms. Planting a 6,000 square-meter open field costs between SR20,000 and SR25,000. Open fields make up 50 percent of Eastern Province farms.
Ali Marzouq, an investor, said Eastern Province farms were affected despite being far away from the wave of bad weather. He feared that the low temperatures would create frost and freeze the dew on leaves in the morning, which can ruin plants.
Farmers across the country have reported losses from unusually cold weather in the Kingdom over the past three years, damaging their crops just as they are about to start their harvest season.
In Taif last year, the cold snap damaged flower crops on 70 percent of local farms. The freezing weather resulted in the formation of frost, which reduced the harvests. Some farmers said they lost up to SR70,000.