Agriculture is one of the essential pillars of Saudi Arabia's food security. Saudi crops have witnessed an increase in domestic demand and consumption, resulting in successful agricultural experiments for a number of farmers in various regions of the Kingdom, including Najran, which embraces many innovative agricultural experiments to contribute to environmental sustainability. The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) met with farmer Ali Dhafir Al-Harith, who managed to create a model farm planting about 2,000 coffee trees and embarked on expanding coffee plantations under palm trees in cooperation with local farmers. He said the farmers have realized that coffee plantations in the Najran region have a promising future commercially, as the Kingdom has set coffee production targets of around 2,500 tons by 2032. Al-Harith referred to the success of coffee planting experiments in the region's palm basins, where more than 100,000 coffee seeds have been planted or will be distributed to farmers. He said the seeds are planted at distances of only two meters from each other so that an area of 2,500 square meters can accommodate over 600 coffee trees — an evergreen perennial plant that can live for over 40 years. Hamad Al Abbas, another farmer, noted that what helped the success of his experience in planting over 90,000 plants of herbal stevia was the region's environmental and natural characteristics, such as soil fertility, water freshness and moderate weather He said harvesting is done three times a year. Nasser Al-Jilbab described his experience in cultivating finger lime as a pioneering one across the Kingdom. The experience of cultivating it in the region was successful, noting that the plant belongs to the citrus family and is native to Australia. It is a high-value fruit because it contains a high concentration of vitamin C. — SPA
