RIYADH: In a bid to ensure food security, the Kingdom recently completed a new facility raising its total grain storage capacity by 40 percent. According to the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, this new facility expands Saudi Arabia’s storage capacity to 3.5 million tons from 2.6 million tons in 2016, Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper reported. The ministry further noted that the Kingdom’s food security strategy has helped reduce barley imports by over 50 percent, from 10 million tons in 2016 to nearly 4.8 million tons. It is part of a plan to liberalize barley imports and allow the private sector to import them. The ministry added that production in the organic agriculture sector increased to 101,000 tons from 56,000 tons in 2016. Moreover, the ministry noted that the Kingdom’s National Program to Reduce Food Loss and Waste has played a crucial role in settling the baseline of food waste in the Kingdom to 33.1 percent. The ministry pointed out that its efforts have resulted in various positive impacts in the agricultural sector, which include raising self-sufficiency ratios in agricultural and animal products. In January, the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli, who is also the chairman of the board of directors of the Agricultural Development Fund, approved a new investment worth SR4 billion ($1 billion) for the expansion of the plant resources sector and greenhouses, local media reported. The approved plan for a period spanning 2023 to 2025 involves the relevant authorities and private sector companies. It aims to increase the production capacity by an estimated 430,000 tons, bringing the total production capacity of the greenhouses to more than 1 million tons annually. In September 2022, Saudi Arabia, in coordination with its regional partners, launched a food security action plan with an initial funding of $10 billion to tackle the global food supply crisis. Speaking at a meeting of G20 agriculture ministers in Indonesia, Al-Fadhli said the Kingdom will continue its role in helping stabilize the global food production supply chain. He also highlighted the Kingdom’s achievement in the agricultural sector, which grew by more than 7.8 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year. Al-Fadhli said the Kingdom is applying modern techniques to boost its agriculture sector and reduce water wastage. Moreover, the government has constructed a network of dams in wadis throughout the country to capture floodwater from the occasional heavy rains. Saudi Arabia leads the world in the desalination of seawater, with no less than 27 desalination plants feeding both cities and farms. Meanwhile, on May 14, the Kingdom’s General Food Security Authority announced the disbursement of the first batch of dues to local wheat farmers, including the payment for farmers who have entered into a contractual relationship with agricultural companies. According to a Saudi Press Agency report, the authority disbursed SR114.74 million for 67,093 tons of wheat distributed among 230 farmers.