Director General of the Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAF) Faisal Al-Hasawi

KUWAIT: The Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAF) is working hard on a multitude of agricultural and development projects to increase its share in Kuwait's GNP projects, Director General Faisal Al-Hasawi has said. This is part of the state efforts to diversify the sources of national income, Al-Hasawi said in an interview yesterday.

The authority has cut a long path in the implementation of a variety of development projects, and many others will follow, he said.

A major venture is that of food security PAAF has adopted for the reorganization and development of the agricultural sector on modern economic, professional, and scientific basis, to encourage national investments in the field, the PAAF chief said. This aims to create a national organized agricultural sector that contributes to economic development, he said, adding that part of the project was breeding sheep and growing animal feed in Al-Abadly, north of Kuwait. "It is an integrated project that reduces reliance on imported fodder and meat, consisting of 200 farms, thus lessening the burden on the state budget," Al-Hasawi stressed.

The food security plan also includes a cattle-fattening project of 50 lots of land, with total area of 170,000 square meters. Unluckily, this promising project has temporarily been suspended, as a railway line connecting Kuwait with GCC countries is planned to go through it. PAAF has been offered a new area of land which is being prepared to resume production, Al-Hasawi said.  Many chicken breeding and fish farming projects are also targeted for food security.  He noted that the main project employs modern agricultural researches and techniques for boosting production.

As for fish wealth, Al-Hasawi said they are working on a host of projects on two major directions; the first of which is protecting the marine environment against depletion of natural resources through establishing natural protectorates. The second is developing and diversifying the sources of fish wealth through fish farming to provide production at considerable prices through the year. Al-Hasawi pointed to the close cooperation between PAAF and the Environment Public Authority (EPA) for preservation of the marine environment.

Meanwhile, PAAF Director General, said that authority is always on alert to protect the country against animal epidemics and diseases, through consolidating quarantines and providing them with state of the art equipment and expertise, as well as coordinating with the concerned state bodies such as the General Administration of Customs and the Interior Ministry. Al-Hasawi pointed to PAAF's scientific cooperation with the world's organizations and leading centers such as the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD). Coordination is underway for opening offices for the FAO and AOAD in Kuwait, he said.- KUNA