Harvesting Joy: The Buraidah Date Festival Returns to sweet delight

A coveted celebration of the traditional fruit, the Buraidah Date Festival returns to the Kingdom's Al-Qassim province.

Hosted in association with Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA), the Buraidah Date Festival is a celebration of dates and the date palm, alongside a community gathering for date farmers and traders.

The Al-Qassim region stands as the leader in date palm cultivation, boasting an impressive 11.2 million trees. This are is closely followed by Madinah with 8.3 million, and Riyadh with 7.7 million. In comparison, the Eastern region of Al-Sharqiyah is home to 4.1 million palm trees.

It will come as no surprise to locals that Saudi Arabia tops the date trading markets globally, exporting more than 1.5 million tonnes of dates annually. The Kingdom also offers more than 300 varieties of dates to both local and international markets, and MEWA confirmed in July of this year, that the Kingdom continues to see an increase in exports each year.

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Through this celebration and further educational and financial investment in the production and farming of dates, MEWA acknowledges the vital role of the humble date in the Kingdom's international standing as a date producer, as well as the pivotal impact on the nation's agricultural landscape. This sector has emerged as a cornerstone for the Kingdom, and is directly linked to food security and the sustainable agricultural progression of the nation.

The impact of the festival is far-reaching, extending beyond the festivities themselves. Fostering a progressive exchange of insights and techniques among date farmers, the celebration and community created by the festival introduces and educates the producers on the use of contemporary agricultural practices that will yield the finest quality dates.

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The Buraidah Date Festival also creates over 4,000 seasonal employment opportunities, it echoes the Kingdom's commitment to address the essential goal of localised job creation and economic empowerment for its citizens.

In tandem with other state bodies, MEWA is committed to fostering and amplifying initiatives that contribute to the sector's evolution, aligning harmoniously with the goals of Saudi Arabia's transformative Vision 2030.