HAIL — A large number of farmers in the city of Khata, 50 km north of Hail, criticized the statement made by Abdullah Al-Hussayen, Minister of Water and Electricity, confirming the government's decision to cease providing farms subsidies for water. The wheat farms which had been heavily subsidized by the government earlier, could no longer be maintained as the amount of water required far exceeded farmers' budgets. Al-Hussayen further suggested that wheat as well as fodder cultivation should be minimized due to the threat it poses to Saudi Arabia's already scarce water supply. Saud Al-Gharbi, a farmer, criticized the Ministry of Water and Electricity's decision to stop cultivation completely to preserve water, and said that people in Hail depended on agriculture as their main source of income. “Some farmers replaced wheat cultivation with fodder cultivation in order to create a source of income for themselves, however, the Ministry of Water and Electricity also said we should stop fodder cultivation. This presents a great danger that threatens the future of agriculture in our country and its beneficiaries." Al-Gharbi continued, “A while ago, this land had been green and covered with wheat, and I didn't expect this land one day to be a barren ground. We farmers abandoned our farms and equipment as we cannot find any customers. Some of our equipment were damaged as a result of the extreme weather, and others were stolen." According to Al-Gharbi, after the government's decision, people abandoned their farms and moved to the city as their financial situations deteriorated. Another farmer, Murdi, expounded on the farmers' financial difficulties. “In the past, our financial situation was very good, but after the decision to stop wheat cultivation, which came down on us like a thunderbolt, our financial situation changed and we had to stop cultivating our farms. However, we were unable to feed our families, and tried to work on cultivating in greenhouses, but unfortunately it was too expensive, especially since the Agricultural Bank refused to give us loans as the farm was still indebted to it." Over the past few years, the Kingdom has slowly brought a 30-year program to grow wheat to an end. Although the program, which gave farmers generous subsidies to grow wheat, was a success and farmers throughout the Kingdom were growing enough wheat to meet domestic demand, the farms put a huge strain on the Kingdom's precious water supplies. Abdullah Atawi, who owned three farms each with four silos all of which were used for cultivating wheat, said that they had led financially good lives due to their wheat crop. “Wheat cultivation was a blessing from God providing us with a substantial income, but after the government's decision, I turned to cultivating clover instead, but unfortunately, it is so expensive in light of the inflated prices of seed, fertilizers, and chemicals, that I was unable to cover its costs." Atawi further criticized the government's decision to cease subsidizing wheat farms, saying, “The Minister of Water and Electricity knows that wheat cultivation is the main source of income for thousands of families in Hail and in the rest of Saudi Arabia, and we want him to provide us with a substitute." Due to the growing financial issues, a large number of farmers were left jobless and turned to charities for assistance. Matar Messiar Al-Shammari, director of a charity in Khata, told Al-Eqtisadiah Arabic daily that the financial situation of many farming families had significantly deteriorated after the government decision to stop the cultivation of wheat. “Farmers are haunted by accumulation of unpaid loans that were taken out for investments in agricultural infrastructure. Our efforts of 30 years were erased in a few days," said farmer Eid Nagheimeish. Nagheimeish said if the government addressed the issue of loans, farmers would be debt free and in a better position to move on with their lives. Other farmers echoed Nagheimeish's words and called upon authorities to study the consequences of the decision and to protect the rights of the farmers, especially in relation to the debts they have incurred at the Agricultural Bank. The farmers further called for a solution to their obsolete agricultural equipment. The Kingdom aims to rely entirely on wheat imports by 2016 and has, along with several other Middle Eastern countries, rented thousands of acres of land in countries all over the world to do its farming. The measure has proven to be more cost effective and has helped ease the burden on the country's limited water supplies.
