ALULA: The Royal Commission for AlUla launched Citrus Season 2025 on Friday. The event coincides with the peak harvest period, and “underscores the RCU’s commitment to supporting the agricultural sector and establishing AlUla as a premier agritourism destination,” according to a statement.

Rami AlMoallim, the RCU’s vice president of destination management and marketing, told Arab News: “AlUla’s growth as a destination has always been rooted in supporting the local community, with farmers playing a pivotal role in our agritourism endeavor.

“The Citrus Festival is one of several platforms that celebrate AlUla’s farmers, showcasing their expertise and the city’s natural abundance. These farmers, with generations of knowledge and dedication, are also central to our vision for a more sustainable future. Through initiatives such as festivals, marketplaces, training, and ongoing support, we are amplifying their contributions and providing them with broader opportunities to thrive,” he continued.

Underscoring that the changing seasons are fundamental to agriculture, AlMoallim said: “We work closely with farmers to identify the optimal times for events like the Citrus Festival, which harnesses the peak season for the more than 20 citrus variants in AlUla. This thoughtful planning enables us to align complementary events, offering visitors an immersive experience that reflects the rich diversity of AlUla.

“Such initiatives showcase the beauty of our agricultural heritage and position AlUla as a premier agritourism destination in Saudi Arabia, contributing significantly to its economic and cultural development,” he added.

Citrus Season, which runs until Jan. 11, is intended to stimulate economic growth through community-focused initiatives and sustainable development projects. It provides a vital platform for local farmers to market their produce, which yields thousands of tons of fruit annually between November and February, contributing significantly to the region’s agricultural and economic development.

The event showcases the diverse range of citrus fruits cultivated in AlUla, which is home to more than 5,000 farms containing 405,000 trees between them, bearing 29 distinct varieties of fruits including oranges, sweet lemons, bergamot oranges, sugar oranges, mandarins, clementines, grapefruits, and kumquats.

Covering 701 hectares, these farms produce 14,000 tons of citrus fruit annually, accounting for a significant portion of the Kingdom’s total annual production of 160,000 tons.

This demonstrates AlUla’s crucial role in strengthening the national agricultural sector and supporting economic diversification in line with Saudi Vision 2030.

The RCU prioritizes the development of AlUla’s agricultural sector to “expand economic opportunities, increase producer competitiveness, create opportunities for local residents, and offer visitors unique experiences through interactive activities that highlight the importance of agriculture to the region’s present and future,” according to the commission.

This year’s Citrus Season will feature exhibition spaces for local families and farmers, a variety of events for residents and visitors, and a training course on using citrus fruits in cooking.

Along with AlUla’s Dates Season, Citrus Season represents a key economic driver, showcasing AlUla’s rich agricultural heritage. 

Dates and citrus fruits play a vital role in supporting the local economy and advancing the RCU’s sustainable development goals.

ARAR: Saudi Arabia’s Northern Borders region is characterized by an abundance of seasonal and annual pastoral plants which helps to fight desertification, increase vegetation cover and biodiversity, and stabilize soil.

Estimated at 104,000 sq. km, the region has many species of trees, shrubs and pastoral plants, most notably the evergreen shrub Salsola, which is eaten predominantly by camels, the Saudi Press Agency reported recently.

Nasser Rashid Al-Majlad, president of the Aman Environmental Society in the Northern Borders region, said the region is classified as a pastoral area and has many multi-purpose plants.

Its topography has contributed to the diversity of its plants and trees, of which the most famous is Salsola, also known as Caroxylon imbricatum.

This evergreen shrub is a summer plant of the Salsola vermiculata genus, which grows in the Arabian Peninsula as well as in the deserts and arid regions of southwestern Asia and North Africa.

It grows over a meter tall, and its leaves contain an unpleasantly smelling sap. It is one of the preferred pastoral plants for camels in particular.

In some places, it has been a tradition to use Salsola for treating skin disorders.

Nature reserves and the Saudi Green Initiative have contributed to afforestation and land reclamation, as well as to the restoration of native plants to their habitats.