SANA'A August 26. 2024 (Saba) - Director of the Office of the President of the Republic Ahmed Hamed visited on Monday the first Khayrat Al-Yemen "Bounties of Yemen" festival for pomegranates, apples, grapes, and dates, which is currently being held in the capital, Sana'a.
The Director of the Presidential Office, along with the Mayor of the Capital, Dr. Hamoud Obbad, and some undersecretaries and directors of the Secretariat, toured the pavilions of the exhibition, which was organized over a week, by the Capital Sana'a in coordination with the relevant authorities, as well as the pavilion of productive families, which was held on the sidelines of the festival.
Hamed listened to the Director of the Agricultural and Fisheries Projects and Initiatives Financing Unit at the Municipality, Eng. Abdul Malik Al-Ansi, to explain the idea of the festival and its objectives in supporting the marketing of agricultural products, enhancing their status, quality, and value in the local and foreign markets, highlighting their ability to compete globally, as well as supporting and encouraging farmers, sellers, marketers, agricultural associations and exporters.
He learned about examples of the bounties of Yemen varieties and types of fruits offered "pomegranate, apples, grapes and dates", the advantages they enjoy, their nutritional value, and their economic return on farmers, as well as models of productive family industries, handicrafts, perfumes, incense, and cosmetics.
The Director of the Presidential Office stressed the urgent need to have a festival, exhibition, and permanent market for national products and make them with high-end specifications that make the world demand Yemeni products. He noted the quality and value of Yemeni products capable of competing in the local and foreign markets, especially if attention is paid to the aspects of hygiene, packaging, and good marketing.
He pointed to the suffering over the waste of gases and toxins, which are sprayed on vegetables and fruits, and requires the Ministry of Agriculture to find the necessary remedies for the problems and educate farmers about the dangers of overusing these toxins on their products.
Hamed praised the efforts of the Capital Municipality in finding the last link of the value chain that was missing, as there was production and there was no marketing. He stressed that Yemen fruits are incomparable in the world in terms of quality and excellence, and need awareness in the way they are prepared, organized and marketed on the dates of reaping the fruits, and the methods and mechanism of marketing and export to ensure the achievement of the desired goals.
He urged the Capital Municipality and the concerned authorities to find permanent and stable markets, ideas and visions that encourage farmers to expand the production of various varieties of fruits and agricultural products to achieve self-sufficiency.
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