Red Sea Global (RSG), the developer of the world's most ambitious regenerative projects, has announced the launch of the Red Sea Farms Cooperative (Tamala), which was established through integrated national partnerships between the government, private and non-profit sectors Tamala aims to develop a model entity that achieves the Kingdom's orientation to enhance the role of cooperatives in the agricultural sector system. Tamala's board of directors and general assembly consists of 29 members with experience in the agricultural sector and farmers from the local community in the Tabuk region. Tamala was launched in partnership with Ithmaar Administrative Entrepreneurship Company, Goros Charitable Foundation, and several entities and people in the Red Sea region in the governorates of Al-Wajh, Umluj and Duba in northwestern Saudi Arabia. Based in Al-Wajh Governorate, Tamala aims to achieve a qualitative agricultural renaissance in the Tabuk region by developing the quality of agricultural products, providing agricultural extension and awareness services to shift to modern agricultural techniques, instead of traditional patterns. It also aims to provide agricultural inputs to farmers according to the latest standards, which contribute to improving agricultural production and farmers' quality of life. Tamala is based on achieving an ambitious strategy that supports the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, which will be achieved by adding value to the agricultural sector in the Kingdom by providing and marketing agricultural crops on a large scale. This contributes to achieving food security in the Kingdom by stabilizing food prices, supporting the rural development economy, and providing many production incentives and raw materials to more than 1,000 factories operating in the fields of food and beverages, which is equivalent to 14% of the number of factories in the Kingdom. John Pagano, CEO of The Red Sea Global, said that Tamala's ambitious development was created to support the farmers of Tabuk in particular, and to enhance local content by providing high-quality agricultural products to the tourist destinations developed by the Red Sea Global from the surrounding farms. It aims to achieve orientation to reduce the impact of carbon emissions resulting from the logistics of transporting agricultural crops from abroad. Pagano said that agriculture in the Kingdom has flourished significantly, influenced by government support for the agricultural sector. Tabuk region, in particular, is characterized by the cultivation of citrus, mangoes and fruits of all kinds, and this is a national wealth that "Tamala" will invest, develop and support by all possible means to achieve environmental, social and economic sustainability in this vital sector. Dr. Abdullah Al-Dubaikhi, chairman of Tamala, stressed that the cooperative will constitute a qualitative leap by achieving tangible results that support the Saudi agricultural sector. He said: "We have worked during the past period to develop an integrated strategic plan, based on the region's ecosystems, natural and human resources, and we have monitored all the challenges and aspects affecting the development of the agricultural sector in the Tabuk region." He added that the chances of success of Tamala's strategy are great, with more than 3,000 farms benefiting from the cooperative's services. This is due to the great interaction we have seen from Red Sea Global and its founding partners. He pointed out that there is a golden opportunity for Tamala in two aspects: the first is the need for tourist destinations for sustainable agricultural products produced by the region. The second aspect is to meet the need of farmers to achieve the best returns from their quality products. These two opportunities will achieve success for the cooperative's business model. It is noteworthy that Prince Fahd Bin Sultan Bin Abdulaziz, governor of Tabuk Region, had earlier received the Chief Administrative Officer of the Red Sea Global Eng. Ahmed Ghazi Darwish, the Chief Environment and Sustainability Officer Raed Al-Basit, as well as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tamala Dr. Abdullah bin Ali Al-Dubaikhi, and members of the Board of Directors. Prince Fahd was briefed on the strategic plan of the project. He stressed the support of the Emirate and government agencies in the region for all the work of the cooperative, and harnessing all capabilities for the success of its activities that are in the interest of the country. — SPA
