WATER AND SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

In Saudi Arabia, we collaborated with the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture to fund, build, and operate the Estidamah Agriculture Research Center. The center researches climate control, irrigation strategies, soil-less agriculture, crop management, and integrated pest management. This year, it focused on water-use efficiency and food quality, hosting more than 250 visitors – including farmers, investors, government agencies, academics, and corporate leaders. The center highlighted SABIC’s activities and promoted the latest technologies for greenhouses in the arid region.

In the UK, we helped fund the Greatham Creek flood defense scheme near North Teesside, which will reduce the risk of flooding to 350 homes and 32 businesses in Port Clarence and the Seal Sands industrial complex. The project also created 50 hectares of new wildlife habitat.

In Brazil, we supported the Forest Builders Initiative, raising awareness of local forest conservation. The project invited the local community to plant native seedlings in the Santa Genebra forest. SABIC donated 1,500 native Atlantic Forest Biome seedlings, which are found in south Brazil.

SABIC partnered with the Arab Fertilizer Association, the Giad Industrial Group, and the Sudanese Ministry of Agriculture to host an Agricultural Awareness Caravan in the Sudan’s River Nile State, as part of the association’s strategy to improve agricultural productivity, promote cooperation, and achieve Arab food security. The caravan, a partner of the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, helped identify potential investment opportunities in the state.

This year, SABIC Lebanon partnered with Rotary Lebanon to help install drinking-water filtration-and-cleaning systems to help 20 public schools in the country access clean and safe water.

In South Korea, a volunteer team from Chungju has, every year since 2014, helped to clean the South Han River.