With its fertile soil and moderate climate, the Jouf region in the north of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become the country’s biggest producer of olive oil, and is home to vast orchards with millions of trees.
Nasser Al-Hamad, owner of ‘Million Tree Farm’ is now regarded as one of the best farmers in the region, in no small part due to his partnership with Rivulis.
“I started with a small, standard olive tree orchard, and then I started my research, including visiting international farms and agricultural experts all over Europe,” says Al-Hamad.
He discovered that adopting the latest drip irrigation technology, rather than traditional flood irrigation techniques could lower costs, reduce water consumption, minimize labor and result in a consistent, high quality olive oil.
Having worked as a Rivulis dealer in the past, Al-Hamad was confident in the expertise offered by Rivulis and the quality of its technology, so he commissioned Rivulis engineer Mohammed Zahir to design the project.
The tailored irrigation design was developed based upon the analysis of soil type, climate, olive variety, and resulted in a design that distributed the water from the middle of the orchard to specific field zones. Coupled together with Rivulis valves and filtration, and D5000 PC drip line, the irrigation design ensured accurate water application and long-term clogging resistance.
“When I started this project,” says Al-Hamad, “I started with 160,000 olive trees only and after 4 years no one believed how young the trees were. The secret behind this successful healthy yield, and the unexpected tree growth, is that we have used a modern irrigation network that precisely regulates the pressure and flow [of water].”
‘Million Tree Farm’ is now a showcase in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and has been awarded by the Ministry of Agriculture for Best Farmer, as well as receiving a Silver Shield in the Dubai Olive Oil Competition.
Rivulis Engineer, Mohammed Zahir, says “The fantastic results of yield growth, together with the optimization of the available water in Saudi Arabia, demonstrate the commitment Rivulis places on developing high performing irrigation systems for the growers in the region.”
After seeing the results, many other orchards have adopted the same technology, with Rivulis becoming the region’s leading brand for such projects.
