ADF to extend loans to investors

The Agricultural Development Fund (ADF) will begin extending loans to investors that seek to invest abroad as of 2014, said Khaled Fuheed, undersecretary of the Ministry of Agriculture. “The value of these loans will be determined according to the scale of the project and the guarantees provided,” he said. “Although the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) is a government company with a capital of SR3 billion, it is operated with a private sector culture and mindset.” The undersecretary spoke to local media on the sidelines of a regional workshop on investments in food security in the GCC states and Yemen held recently in Riyadh. He said forming the committee to control waste came on the recommendations of the Environment Program of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization. “The committee includes the ministries of commerce and industry, planning and economy, the Agricultural Development Fund and food commission,” he added. “Waste is not only leftover food dumped in the garbage following a banquet or a wedding, but also all the waste resulting from the production line. These include the bad seeds that resulted in disrupted crops, using too much insecticides and water,” he said while referring to the vegetable market to the north of Riyadh, where 50 tons of unfit vegetables were dumped on Farmer Day. Source: Arab News