Rome, 13 February 2018 – Saudi Arabia and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) signed a Reimbursable Technical Assistance (RTA) agreement today to boost agriculture production and food security in Saudi Arabia's Jizan Region.

The three-year agreement was signed today on the sidelines of IFAD's 41^st Governing Council in Rome by the President of IFAD, Gilbert F. Houngbo, and Abdulrahman Al Fadli, the Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture.

This collaboration is expected to enhance the productivity, profitability and climate change resilience of an estimated 30,000 smallholder farmers and their farmer-based organizations. The RTA will focus on coffee and mango value chain development, new technologies to create improved products and access to new markets.

The RTA will be implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, which has also been working to step up the contribution of the non-oil sector, including agriculture, to the economy under Saudi's National Transformation Plan (NTP).

In this regard, the newly signed RTA will focus on contributing to sustainable food security; optimizing the use of renewable water resources for agricultural purposes; and developing sustainable, highly efficient production systems for plants and livestock.

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Press release No.: IFAD/13/2018

IFAD has invested in rural people for 40 years, empowering them to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve nutrition and strengthen resilience. Since 1978, we have provided US$19.7 billion in grants and low-interest loans to projects that have reached about 474 million people. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency based in Rome – the UN’s food and agriculture hub.