A roadmap for transforming the city's endowment farms into investment destinations
In a significant step aimed at enhancing the efficiency of the non-profit sector, the scientific committee of the "Endowment Farms" symposium, held in Medina, launched a comprehensive roadmap comprising a set of strategic recommendations. This roadmap aims to restructure agricultural endowments from both legislative and investment perspectives, ensuring their maximum developmental impact and sustainability for future generations.
Historical context and strategic importance
This initiative is of particular importance given the historical significance of Medina, the birthplace of Islamic endowments (waqf) and the starting point for some of the oldest agricultural endowments throughout history, beginning with the wells and farms established by the Companions of the Prophet to serve Muslims. These efforts today aim to revive this great legacy, but with modern mechanisms that transcend the traditional concept of trusteeship, moving it towards sustainable institutional investment. Activating agricultural endowment assets is a pressing necessity in light of global economic challenges, as these assets represent a latent wealth that can be a powerful contributor to the national economy if managed according to professional standards.
Strict governance and legislative reform
The committee prioritized a qualitative shift in the legislative and regulatory frameworks governing endowment farms to keep pace with modern economic changes. Recommendations emphasized the imperative of adopting rigorous financial and administrative governance models that guarantee the highest standards of efficiency and transparency in managing these vital assets. Participating experts called for moving beyond traditional investment approaches to diversifying resources and strengthening strategic partnerships between the endowment sector and the public and private sectors to ensure the continuity of contributions and asset growth.
Economic impact and food security
These recommendations align directly with the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, which aims to increase the non-profit sector's contribution to the GDP to 5%. Furthermore, developing endowment farms plays a pivotal role in achieving the Kingdom's food security strategy by transforming neglected or traditional endowment lands into productive agricultural projects that contribute to bridging the food gap and providing high-quality local produce. In this regard, the committee called for leveraging scientific research and smart agricultural technologies to boost productivity, considering innovation the key to ensuring the sustainability of agricultural endowments.
Quality projects and agricultural tourism
In a move to unify efforts, the recommendations proposed establishing a comprehensive national platform to serve as a bridge connecting donors and trustees with research centers and investment sectors to launch joint projects. The committee also directed the development of specialized national guidelines for managing endowment-owned tourist farms, including innovative marketing mechanisms and precise indicators to measure the developmental impact of this new model. This would pave the way for transforming these farms into educational and recreational tourist destinations that generate additional revenue for the endowment.
These outcomes emerged at the conclusion of a panel discussion organized by the Islamic University at the King Salman International Conference Center in Madinah, in strategic partnership with the Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Subaie Endowment. The event was attended by a distinguished group of dignitaries and decision-makers. This initiative gains significant credibility, particularly following the recent awarding of the Princess Seetah bint Abdulaziz Award for Excellence to the Islamic University's endowments for their pioneering initiative in endowment farms.
