RIYADH: Saudi industry chiefs on Sunday signed a deal to set up an Animal Protein city in the Jazan region as part of an ambitious project to support the Kingdom’s food sector. The memorandum of understanding was agreed between officials of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu and the National Livestock and Fisheries Development Program. The agreement was inked in the presence of industry and mineral resources minister and chairman of the commission’s board of directors, Bandar Al-Khorayef, environment, water, and agriculture minister and NFDP board chairman, Abdulrahman Al-Fadli, and commission president, Khalid Al-Salem. HIGH LIGHT The agricultural sector contributed to an increase in local content of approximately SR72 billion ($19.16 billion) to being 50 to 60 percent self-sufficient in red meat and fish. It aims to support entrepreneurs in helping the Kingdom to hit its goals of localizing 85 percent of food industries, achieving food security, increasing agricultural and industrial sector contributions, promoting non-oil exports, and creating job opportunities as part of Vision 2030. The MoU will also seek to encourage the exchange of studies, experiences, and data, while improving the industrial and maritime infrastructures of Jazan. The agricultural and industrial sectors have been among the biggest contributors to the Kingdom’s growth in recent years. The agricultural sector contributed to an increase in local content of approximately SR72 billion ($19.16 billion) to being 50 to 60 percent self-sufficient in red meat and fish. Meanwhile, the number of food factories last year grew by 200 percent to 1,023 with investments in the industrial sector exceeding SR88 billion.