The Cabinet presided over by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, approved the Agricultural Development Fund (ADF) Regulation here Monday, which will replace the Saudi Arabian Agricultural Bank Regulation. The fund will have a capital of SR20 billion, which can be increased by the Council of Ministers. ADF's aim is to bring about sustainable development of agriculture. It will provide easy loans and credit facilities. Its prime concerns include preserving water resources by rationalizing their use for agriculture, and protecting the environment. In a related development on the goal of attaining food security, King Abdullah received here Monday the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Abdullah Zainal Ali Reza, who is acting head of the ministerial team charged with the King Abdullah Initiative for Saudi Agricultural Investment Abroad. Accompanying Zainal were two Saudi businessmen, Mohammad Hussein Al-Amoudi and Abdullah Hassan Al-Masri who have invested in the Initiative. The meeting was held on the occasion of the arrival in the Kingdom of the first crop of rice from the Initiative. The Initiative aims realize national and international food security, build partnerships with countries that have high agricultural potential, and develop, manage and sustain agricultural investments in several strategic crops for their availability in sufficient quantities and at stable prices. The Council of Ministers also made a number of other decisions on the agriculture and environment sectors. It decided that the Irrigation and Drainage Commission in Al-Ahsa will remain independent with the Minister of Agriculture serving as its board chairman. The Al-Kharj Agricultural Project will be de-linked from the Irrigation and Drainage Commission in Al-Ahsa and merged with the animal resources sector in the Ministry of Agriculture. A technical committee involving several government departments will address the employment situation of Al-Kharj Agricultural Project staff, the project's financial allocations and properties, and the matter of its staff who have to be transferred to associated departments. As for the environment sector, the Cabinet decided that the General Presidency for Meteorology and Environmental Protection (GPMEP) will remain an independent body while the Deputy Agency for the Environment in the General Presidency will be upgraded to an agency and supported with qualified human resources. The Cabinet decided that the Ministerial Committee for the Environment will be replaced by a new Environment Council. It will be headed by the GPMEP and will have representatives of related government departments as members. The Cabinet also decided to retain the organizational structure of the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWCD) and to activate the role of other government departments in environmental protection.
