The meeting of the Joint Programme Committee (JPC) between the Ministry of Agriculture in KSA and FAO was held during 26-29/11/2011 in Riyadh with 2 days field visit to the Camels and Rangeland Research Center in Al Jouf and the National Center for Horticulture Research and Development in Najran. The purpose of the meeting was to evaluate and review the progress and achievements of the projects under the technical cooperation programme for the period 2007-2011.

The committee members were briefed during the meeting in Riyadh through presentations presented by the FAO programme coordinator and projects’ NPDs and consultants about the features and achievements of the projects under the programme. The committee members had an opportunity to visit facilities of 4 projects:

i) Development of production, processing and marketing of olive in KSA; and Camel breeding, protection and improvement center in the KSA in Al Jouf

ii) Strengthening the national center for horticultural research and development (NCHRD) in Najran,

iii) Preservation and improvement of Arabian horse in its homeland in King Abdulaziz Center for Arabian Horses in Dirab. 

At the end of the visit the committee had concluded common strengths, constrains and lessons learned from the programme for period 2007-2011, and came out with recommendations for the next period.