Minister of Social Affairs Abdulmuhsin Al-Akkas has praised yesterday’s resolution of the Council of Ministers concerning support for cooperative associations working in agriculture and fisheries, saying this will facilitate both their function and their marketing. The Cabinet resolution addressed issues such as allocation of land for a nominal rent, designation of places to market produce, facilitation of financing, and ease of importing farmers' needs for fertilizers, pesticides, spare parts and equipment.

Minister Al-Akkas said there are 46 cooperative associations working in agriculture and fisheries, involving over 14,000 people. There are overall in the Kingdom 153 cooperative associations, with about 40 thousand members. The operating capital involved is just over SR155.33 million [U.S. $41.48 million] with SR256.5 million [$68.5 million] in reserves.

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