Fruit production supported by Saudi Arabia’s Sustainable Agricultural Rural Development Program, known as Saudi Reef, has risen 108% to 379,000 tons since the program started, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.
Saudi coffee production supported by the program reached 7,400 tons, up 106%.
Majed Al-Buraikan, the program’s spokesman, said the figures measure growth in the production it has supported from the program’s launch through 2026. Growth exceeded 100% in some of the targeted sectors.
Honey production rose 94% to more than 7,000 tons. Al-Buraikan said modern beehives produce about 5 kilograms each, compared with about 2.2 kilograms for traditional hives.
Production of rainfed crops reached 71,000 tons, up 36%. Al-Buraikan said model farms had shown they could raise rainfed crop yields by about 250%.
Output by small-scale fishers rose to 16,000 tons.
The number of fruit seedlings supported by the program has reached 25 million. Saudi Reef said about 4.4 million coffee seedlings are expected to lift output to more than 20,000 tons of coffee cherries once fully mature.
Saudi Arabia’s cabinet approved extending the program until the end of 2032 last week. The program also handed over five beekeeping and honey production projects worth SR48.2 million on Oct. 19.
