Agricultural Finance Towards Food Security in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Achieving food security is the main target that all countries strive to realize. The provision of finance for agricultural projects and activities is the key factor for sustaining food security. For Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom has prioritized food security in its Vision 2030. This chapter aimed to shed light on the role played by agricultural finance in achieving food security in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). It also sheds light on the Agricultural Development Fund (ADF): general requirements for accepting applications for credit services, lending terms, credit services, and others. It is evidence that KSA has realized the importance of agricultural finance in sustaining food security thus establishing the ADF. It has also assigned the role of sustaining KSA food security to the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA) represented by the General Food Security Authority (GFSA). The ADF is playing a crucial role in sustaining food security in KSA through liaising with MEWA and the National Development Fund in the provision of support, credit, and consultancy to agricultural investors (investing locally and/or abroad) and importers. The annual values of ADF’s loans distributed to beneficiaries are increasing over time by 13.7 million US Dollars/annum. It is clear that the ADF has contributed effectively to enable the Kingdom to achieve its current situation of food security, which can be called stable and food secure.