in dairy production and exports in the region. Saudi dairies are modern and use the latest technologies, with milk production per animal being the highest in the world at over 10,000 liters/year/cow. (The global average for milk production is approximately 2,200 liters/year/cow.)
In 2016, the Saudi government embarked upon a three-year program to conserve water resources by reducing its domestic production of alfalfa, wheat, corn and several other commodities important for dairy and livestock production.
A February 2017 report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service titled “Saudi Arabian Alfalfa Hay Market” illustrates the dynamics of this water restriction and the Saudis’ emerging market for imported hay products. The FAS estimates that 2016 hay imports into Saudi Arabia totaled about 380,000 metric tons. Total forage production in the country was estimated to be about 4 million metric tons per year.
Total forage = production 4 MMT What is the solution?
This situation in Saudi Arabia generated some initiatives to develop new alfalfa production in Sudan, Ethiopia, Morocco, Pakistan and Egypt, but there were limitations due to management, infrastructure and transportation.
Other solutions to this crisis are imports from large agricultural producers, like the United States and Eastern Europe. Romania and Serbia took advantage of this shortage and started to invest heavily in alfalfa processing plants, as well as in expanding the land cultivated with this crop and in technology that helps make the production efficient, such as pivot irrigation.
For example, in Romania, spreading out across the fertile lands around the Great Braila Island in the southeastern part of the country, the farm managed by Agricost SA runs 60 kilometers long and 11 kilometers wide. It is divided into 29 subfarms, each managing its own crops.
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In 2016, the Saudi government embarked upon a three-year program to conserve water resources by reducing its domestic production of alfalfa, wheat, corn and several other commodities important for dairy and livestock production.
The company has invested nearly 13 million euros in an alfalfa processing plant, using Spanish technology. The company relied on alfalfa because the protein level is almost double that of conventional soybeans. Due to the growing demand for this commodity in Middle Eastern countries, Agricost plans to attract investors to build another two or three alfalfa processing plants on the island and to secure the export contracts. To improve results, more than half of the island’s surface is already irrigated by towable pivots using remote management technology.
“The approximately 35,000 tons of alfalfa are exported annually to a large extent to Middle Eastern countries,” declared Lucian Buzdugan, chairman of the board of SC Agricost SA in June 2017 during the Field Day event at the DuPont Center of Excellence on Braila.
What is next?
These new dynamics in global agriculture are moving development opportunities from certain areas of the world to others, some players being capable to seize them and to anticipate the trends, investing in irrigation technologies and production of high-quality crops.
This trend leads to an increased demand for modern irrigation equipment, remote management technology and variable rate irrigation in the Balkans region. The focus is on efficient use of water and electricity — which results from utilizing smart and efficient irrigation equipment, technology and practices.
Camil Aliman is the marketing manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Valley Irrigation. He lives in Romania and is passionate about marketing, engineering, technology trends and classic cars.
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