JEDDAH: The activities of the Buraidah Date Festival continue amid anticipation from local farmers and date traders to market the production of more than 11 million palm trees. The festival, organized by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture’s branch in Qassim, runs until Aug. 25. The carnival aims to introduce date farmers to modern agricultural practices and facilitate the exchange of expertise on innovative ways to produce the best-quality dates. The festival has provided more than 4,000 seasonal job opportunities, reflecting one of the most important objectives pursued by the Kingdom’s promotional and tourist carnivals, which is to localize and create jobs for Saudis. Festival CEO Khaled Al-Nuqidan said that the job opportunities created by the carnival were provided through committees, supervising teams, points of sale, retail shops, farms, date squares and export arenas. Other job roles include monitoring, statistics, surveillance, organization, information, and relations committees. Additionally, there are delivery professions and investment services in palm plantations operated by the national workforce. There are also points of sale within and outside the region, packaging and exporting, and productive families working on date manufacturing. The director of the ministry’s branch in Qassim, Abdulaziz Al-Rajei, said: “The carnival is one of the highly anticipated annual events. Saudi Arabia continues to support and enhance palm cultivation, aiming to improve its competitiveness both locally and internationally. The export of dates has become an integral part of the country’s economy.” Al-Rajei said that the festival had established a comprehensive system of activities and services to accompany the event. The system aims to promote more than 45 varieties of dates that the region is renowned for. The carnival involves the participation of government and private agencies that specialize in dates and their derivatives. Additionally, more than 27 specialized agencies are involved in the marketing of dates. Farmers from the region are participating, and several exhibitions showcasing government agencies, manufacturing industries and productive families are being held alongside the carnival. Al-Nuqaidan told Arab News that this year’s festival features poetry evenings and musical bands. There are also displays of handicrafts related to the palm tree, re-creations of ancient farms, a photography corner, a designated children’s area, and exhibitions for painters. According to the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Saudi Arabia’s date exports reached 321,000 tons, valued at SR1.28 billion ($341 million), in 2022. The ministry said that the annual output of dates in the Kingdom in 2022 exceeded 1.6 million tons with more than 300 varieties on offer. The number of date palms in Saudi Arabia exceeded 34 million trees, distributed throughout the Kingdom’s regions. The Qassim region boasts the highest number of palm trees, with a total of 11.2 million trees, followed by Madinah with 8.3 million and Riyadh with 7.7 million. The Eastern region has 4.1 million palm trees.