BURAIDA: A team of members from the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) and the Agricultural Development Fund has visited a number of Qassim farms and met farmers to discuss their support for investment in agricultural tourism. The Qassim area, home to more than 4,000 farms, is famous for its agriculture. The team listened to farmers' thoughts about how to exploit fields of palm trees and what economic benefit could be gained by reviving the fields and investing in them, in the wake of some owners starting to abandon them. The team's tour is part of a recently signed agreement between the SCTA and Fund to back tourism projects in palm tree fields. The project is part of the state's concern to develop and preserve the agricultural sector, which is an important economic resource, a source of income for a large group of citizens and a field that contains job opportunities, said Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Aal Al-Sheikh, director general of Tourism Programs and Products. He added the project also aims to develop tourism to boost the field of agriculture and generate additional income for small farmers in particular through introducing tourist services at their farms.
