APN has participated in the financing and conduct of a training workshop on durable and sustainable agricultural techniques, mainly "Permaculture" in Al-Majidiya village in Al-Muaqqar district.The workshop held on Dec.17, 2019 was organized by the National Center for Agricultural Research and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).

During the workshop, in which 30 volunteers participated, nearly a thousand trees, seedlings and 25 different plants provided by APN were planted according to techniques that are adapted to climate change. The planting was part of APN’s Green Caravan program. According to the National Center for Agricultural Research, the village of Al-Majidiyah consists of approximately 600 dunums and is inhabited by about 400 people. The rainfall rate is estimated at less than 100 milliliters.

Massannat Al-Hiyari, head of the Socio-Economic Research Directorate said:" "We can call the initiative on this day desert challenge because agriculture will be carried out in a very dry area.  Funding parties will also be apprized on this model with highlighting of the complementarity between plant and animal production leading to sustainable agriculture and self-sufficiency for everyone with a plot of land that can be invested.”

 Mariam Al-Jaajaa, director general of the Arab Group for the Protection of Nature (APN) valued the partnership with the National Center for Agricultural Research, stressing that the Group is sparing no effort in seeking cooperation and networking with the various sectors in order to support and ensure success of agricultural projects.

She added that the qualitative and inspiring activity that highlights the most prominent techniques that enhance local agricultural production and comes within the framework of durable and sustainable agricultural development gains added value, as it moved from the stage of theoretical study and training to practical application on the land of small farmers.

The APN head said that the fact that the initiative was carried out in one of the villages of Muwaqqar with poor shares of rain water is fully consistent with the program of sovereignty over food implemented by the Group towards cultivating land and local production up to some stage of self-sufficiency through the use of resources in the best possible way, and reducing dependence on external imports and costly inputs.

Organizers are looking to generalize this model, which is characterized by its low cost and ability for growth in dry environments with the least amount of water. It is hoped to generalize it in other regions of the Kingdom in order to reinforce the idea of self-sufficiency for small farmers.