NEOM is looking to seafood as it eyes a sustainable and self-sufficient future of food production in Saudi Arabia.
NEOM is teaming up with the Arabian Agricultural Services Company (ARASCO) and Cargill to develop sustainable aquaculture sector and achieve protein self-sufficiency by 2030.
The three parties will work together to explore and scale up sustainable ways to meet rising domestic demand for aquaculture, including through research and development into more sustainable feed sources.
Nasser A. Abanmi, ARASCO CEO, said: “Aquaculture began in Saudi nearly 35 years ago, now it became one of the highest exports in the KSA.
NEOM aquaculture deal
“As per the statistics, aquaculture is one of the fastest-growing food production sectors in the world, and in Saudi we enjoy abundant natural resources along the west coastline (2,600km) where aquaculture can be a great potential opportunity to serve food security in Saudi”.
Identifying the importance of aquaculture to global food safety, he added the importance of the growing sector.
“Additionally, we need aquaculture to help feed the world. By 2050, there will 9.7bn people on the planet, according to the UN, and this growth will put huge pressure on food security and production in general, and fish in particular which is aligned with ARASCO’s mission to support food security in a sustainable way within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and in the Middle East,” added Abanmi.
Dr. Juan Carlos Motamayor, Head of NEOM Food, said: “Aquaculture offers the most sustainable way to produce protein in terms of water consumption and carbon emissions to arid countries such as Saudi Arabia.
“This agreement will ultimately lead to addressing the need to replace fishmeal by more sustainable fish feed”.
“Additionally, it aligns with NEOM’s efforts to facilitate the production and supply of sustainable seafood while protecting the marine environment. We look forward to working with ARASCO and Cargill to transform the seafood-production industry and minimize the environmental impact.”
Helen Ziv-douki, Global President of Cargill’s Aqua Nutrition business, said: “Providing sustainable protein to feed the growing population requires all of us working together.
“We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with ARASCO and NEOM with the aim of producing the seafood the world needs while minimising its impact on the planet.”
This initiative is consistent with the plans and programs for the development and diversification of the Saudi economy under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which includes achieving self-sufficiency in industries including food, and developing export markets where possible.
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