AL-AHSA: Saudi farmers here need more support to buy fertilizers, medicines and equipment, and market their products.
This is the view of Ahmed Al-Musalmi, who recently won the country’s ‘Ideal Farmer Award.’ He said high production costs and low market prices are preventing farmers from cultivating vegetables.
He said this situation was forcing some farmers to borrow money. Rising debt could see many leave the industry, which could have an impact on the country’s economy, he said.
Ibrahim Al-Saleh, a farmer in his eighties, said: “I used to go to the farm every day, even during Ramadan. When I was 12 years old, I worked a full day while fasting for only SR1. My brothers and I used to plow the farm until sundown, so that we could grow rice.”
Al-Saleh said many farmers were still working out in the heat and would wet their clothes as a relief measure.
Reminiscing about the old days, Saad Majeed, also a farmer, said that many farmers used to gather for iftar at a different farm every day.
“I used to spend my day during Ramadan irrigating the palms and herding the sheep, just like other days of the year,” he said.