Your Local Guarantee: A national campaign to improve the quality and safety of Saudi food
In a strategic move aimed at transforming the agricultural sector in the Kingdom, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture launched the national awareness campaign “Your Local Guarantee.” This campaign aims to introduce the Saudi Good Agricultural Practices (Saudi GAP) program and seeks to enhance the sustainability of the agricultural sector and raise the standards of quality and safety of locally produced food, in direct alignment with the objectives of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which aims to achieve food security and self-sufficiency.
Vision and Food Security Context
This campaign comes at a time when Saudi Arabia is undergoing a major transformation in its food and agricultural systems. Agriculture is no longer merely a traditional activity, but has become a strategic industry reliant on technology and international standards. The "Your Local Guarantee" campaign is part of ongoing efforts to promote "local content," with the Ministry working to bridge the gap between producers and consumers by building trust based on accredited quality certifications. This ensures that citizens and residents have access to fresh and safe agricultural products that rival the quality of imported products.
What is the "Saudi Gap" program?
The Saudi GAP program is the backbone of this campaign, representing the national version of global standards for good agricultural practices. The program focuses on implementing a set of rigorous technical standards covering all stages of the food chain, from sowing to harvest and beyond. These standards include:
- Safe use of pesticides: Ensuring that there are no chemical residues that harm human health.
- Water management: Rationalizing water consumption and using modern irrigation techniques to preserve non-renewable water resources.
- Soil health: Maintaining soil fertility and preventing its degradation.
Economic and health dimensions
The importance of "Your Local Guarantee" extends beyond mere awareness; it also carries significant economic and health dimensions. Economically, obtaining the "Saudi GAP" certification for local farms opens new marketing channels, whether in major supermarkets that demand high quality standards, or even in export markets to regional and international markets, thus increasing the market value of the national product.
From a health perspective, adhering to these standards means a tangible decrease in the risks associated with food contamination, which has a positive impact on public health and reduces the treatment bill for diseases associated with unhealthy food.
Empowering farmers and ensuring resource sustainability
The initiative focuses directly on the human element, supporting farmers and technicians and developing their professional skills to adopt smart and sustainable farming methods. The program effectively contributes to streamlining farm management and implementing advanced pest control systems, while strictly adhering to the protection of workers' health and rights, thus creating an attractive and productive agricultural work environment.
This campaign is a continuation of a series of successful initiatives such as “Our Winter is Healthy” and “Environmental Lens,” confirming the commitment of the concerned authorities not only to empower current farmers, but also to protect natural resources for future generations, making the Saudi product the first choice for the consumer looking for quality, safety, and reliability.
