The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture revealed that it is currently establishing a geographical indication for Jizan's coffee to help farmers improve profit, production efficiency and product quality, in collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Intellectual Property Organization.
The geographical indication is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin. It refers to the geographical area of origin of products that have qualities, reputation or characteristics that are due to that origin.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Eng. Ahmed S. AlAiadh said that developing a geographical indication for coffee crops in Jizan region is part of the Ministry's efforts to develop the agricultural sector and expand its production base as envisioned under the Saudi Vision 2030.
The Ministry is currently carrying out several programs and projects aim to grow a promising crop such as coffee in the Kingdom’s Southwestern area, particularly in Jizan, as it has suitable climatic and environmental conditions for cultivation of coffee. In Jizan, there are about 68 thousand dunums of land which can cover 15% of domestic consumption needs in the future, AlAiadh said.
He also highlighted some of these key programs and projects, including the Rehabilitate Agricultural Terraces and Apply Rainwater Harvesting Techniques in the Kingdom’s Southwestern Region project and the Coffee Value Chain project with IFAD.
AlAiadh, emphasizing the importance of coffee beans, said that coffee is the main elements of the Sustainable Agricultural Rural Development Program. Accordingly, model coffee farms are to be established to enhance coffee production, facilitate access to financial credit through the Agricultural Development Fund, build small dams and retaining walls for rainwater harvesting and water reservoirs for irrigation, establish research and extension centers, production, marketing and industrial cooperative societies and coffee outlets, and provide direct financial support to smallholder coffee producers.