Arab News | 9 May 2012

The Ministry of Agriculture wants to hand over the file of foreign agricultural investments to the Saudi Company for Agriculture Investment and Animal Production (SCAIAP), Dammam-based Arabic daily Al-Sharq reported Tuesday quoting the Minister of Agriculture Fahd Balghunaim.

The minister said the file was under the custody of a government team comprising the Minister of Commerce and Industry (chairman) and the Minister of Agriculture as his deputy in addition to the undersecretaries of the Ministries of Agriculture, Commerce, Finance and Foreign Affairs.

"Handing over the file of the Saudi agricultural investment abroad to a company will save time and effort for a number of government ministries," he said.

SCAIAP is a government-owned company that the Ministry of Finance established. The General Investments Fund represents them with a capital of SR3 billion.

Balghunaim said investing in agriculture in foreign countries would help save the Kingdom's water resources. "The Kingdom's agricultural strategy is three-pronged: Local production, importing and foreign investments," he said, adding that the private sector is continuing its agricultural investments abroad.

The minister also revealed conducting negotiations to investment in agriculture in Bulgaria and Ukraine to provide the Kingdom with agricultural products.