A Saudi Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture Abdul Rahman Al-Fadhli has signed an investment contract for the Kingdom’s first “coffee city.” The 15-year agreement with the Agricultural Cooperative Society in Baljurashi was signed in the presence of Ahmed Al-Ayada, the undersecretary for agriculture.

According to the ministry, the agreement aims to achieve agricultural product and crop sustainability, encourage agricultural investment, develop vegetation cover, create local job opportunities, and strengthen the role of cooperative societies in the Kingdom.

The agreement calls for the planting of 300,000 coffee arabica seedlings and pomegranate trees on a 1,662,373-square-meter plot in Mashuqa, Al-Qura governorate, Al-Baha. It will include a model farm, an integrated nursery for coffee seedling cultivation, and an industrial center with workshops, warehouses, a business center, on-site lodging, a training center, and a mosque.

The ministry is working to expand coffee arabica production, manufacturing, and marketing. The coffee-growing regions of Jazan, Al-Baha, and Asir are among the most important and well-developed in the Kingdom.