Food and Nutrition Security in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Author Biography

Dr. Adam E. Ahmed is an Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics in the Department of Agribusiness and Consumer Sciences, College of Agricultural and Food Sciences, King Faisal University. He obtained his B.Sc. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Khartoum, Sudan (1994); M.Sc. in Agricultural Economics from the same university (1997). He obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Giessen, Germany (2004). He joined the Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum (1994) as a Teaching Assistant (1994-98); Lecturer (1999-2000); Assistant Professor (2004-2009), and Associate Professor 2010 to present. Dr. Ahmed has pursued a variety of works including teaching, research, and community outreach. He is the founder of Albilad Bank Chair for Food Security in Saudi Arabia and the Food Loss and Waste Research Chair. He is the initiator of King Faisal's Initiative on "Stop Food Loss and Waste and the Initiative for Strengthening Saudi Arabia's Rank in the Global Food Security Index. He has had several consultancy assignments with FAO, WFP, ACSAD, and USAID.  Prof. Jameel M. Al-Khayri is affiliated with the Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia. He received B.S. in Biology in 1984 from the University of Toledo, M.S. in Agronomy in 1988, and Ph.D. in Plant Science in 1991 from the University of Arkansas. He is a member of the International Society for Horticultural Science and serves as the National Correspondent of the International Association of Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology. In addition to teaching, advising and research, he held administrative responsibilities as the Assistant Director of Date Palm Research Center, Head of Department of Plant Biotechnology and Vice Dean for Development and Quality Assurance. Prof. Al-Khayri served as a Member of Majlis Ash-Shura (Saudi Legislative Council) for the 2009-2012 term. He is interested in the role of biotechnology in enhancing food security and mitigation of the impact of climate change on agriculture. Prof. Shamseddin M. Ahmed is a leading expert in water management, agricultural engineering, and environmental sustainability. He earned top honors (B.Sc., 2000) and a Ph.D. (2009) from the University of Gezira (Sudan), including DAAD-funded research in Germany. He has dedicated his 25-year career to Gezira's Water Management and Irrigation Institute (WMII), rising from teaching assistant to full Professor (2023) and becoming Dean in 2020. He holds key leadership roles in major environmental projects, including Sudan's Sustainable Natural Resource Management Project (Green African Wall - GEF/World Bank), key climate change committees (NAPA, REDD+), and contributed to the Saudi Green Initiative via King Faisal University.He is the Co-Founder and President of APIWEC, uniting African professionals to advance sustainable agriculture and climate policies.  Dr. Azharia A. Elbushra is an Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics at the Department of Agribusiness and Consumer Sciences, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia. She obtained her Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Khartoum in 2007. She started her career as a teaching assistant in the Department of Agricultural Sciences, College of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Juba, Sudan in 1994, lecturer in 1998, Assistant Professor in 2007. In August 2011, she joined the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness at the College of Agriculture, University of Bahri, Sudan, and was promoted to Associate Professor in April 2013. Her expertise is in the field of agricultural policy, project evaluation, food security, and quantitative modeling.