A sub-regional workshop for the GCC States and Yemen on ‘New Technologies for the sustainability of Mango Production and the Potential Tropical Fruits in the Dry Areas of the Arabian Peninsula’ was held in Jazan/Algunfudah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 3 – 5 June 2014. The workshop was organised under the Technical Cooperation Programme between the Ministry of Agriculture, Saudi Arabia and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the UN, Saudi Arabia. International Tropical Fruits Network (TFNet) was a collaborating partner in this workshop.
The workshop was officially opened by Deputy Minister of Agricultural Affairs, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, H.E. Dr. Khalid Mohammed Al-Fuhaid, following welcome addresses by the Director General of the National Research Center for Agricultural and Animal Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, KSA, Eng. Abdallah Saleh Al-Hotan and FAO’s KSA Program Coordinator Dr. Abdallah Oihabi.
The workshop was attended by 100 participants and resource persons from the Saudi Arabia (including local universities), Oman, UAE, Yemen, Egypt, Sudan and TFNet.
The workshop objectives were:
- To facilitate exchange of experience with national and international experts from concerned scientific institutions toknow the developments and modern techniques on various aspects of breeding, production, protection and marketing of mango and potential tropical fruits.
- To benefit from the expertise of International Tropical Fruits Network (TFNet) and neighbouring States on mango and tropical fruits.
- To benefit from issues which were raised during the workshop to develop appropriate research programs addressing certain production problems
- To encourage and support international technical cooperation in various aspects of the production chain of mango and potential tropical fruits in dry and semi-dry areas.
The main areas of focus of the workshop were on propagation and cultural practices, water and nutrition management, pests and diseases management, harvest, post harvest and processing technologies of mango and potential tropical fruits for arid areas of the Arabian Peninsula.
The workshop included a field trip to the Jazan Agriculture Research Centre to observe the collection of various mango varieties and cultural practices for mango production.
A field day with farmers was organised in Algunfudha, a major mango production area on the third day of the workshop, with Dr. Elhadi YahiaKazuz, Harvest and Post-Harvest Expert from FAORNE, Cairo leading the practical training and discussion.
Discussions from observations and presentations from the workshop will be compiled into documents according to the following titles:
- Manual on common pests and diseases of mango in the Arabian Peninsula
- Manual on Good Agricultural Practices in Mango Production in the Arabian Peninsula
- Manual on Good Harvest and Post Harvest Practices for Mango in the Arabian Peninsula
- Manual on Potential Tropical Fruits for the Dry Areas of the Arabian Peninsula.
