Despite the claims of officials declaring Al-Qasim free of the red palm weevil, the pest has broken out in 246 fields, endangering 6 million palm trees in the area. Landowners are campaigning for stricter laws to combat the disease.

More than 100 farmers discussed last night means of preventing the spread of the red palm weevil and blamed the Ministry of Agriculture for failing to eradicate the pest three years ago when the inflicted areas were limited. Sultan Al-Thunnayan, head of the Dates Committee in Al-Qasim, presided over the meeting, which was held in a palm field in Al-Qaraa’ Center in north Buraidah.

Abdullah Al-Ayyaf, head of the date producers, as well as a number of investors, academics, farmers and agriculture experts attended the meeting.

Al-Ayyaf said the Ministry of Agriculture has failed to address the problem, as the pest continues to spread rapidly. “The red palm weevil is known to be lethal to the indigenous plants and the potential of establishing monitoring farming offices remains weak in the area.

This pest can destroy the palms in the entire area and cause losses that can exceed SR 30 billion. Officials at the Ministry of Agriculture did not take the required measures in this regard,” he said. Al-Ayyaf called on farmers to disinfect their fields themselves and lauded their efforts in setting up a fund to combat the pest, after the failure of officials. Al-Thunnayan said that the pest has reached an advance stage as farmers have resorted to uprooting some palm trees.

He assured that a number of meetings would take place in the coming days to announce means of treating infected palms and containing the spread of the pest.

The Dates Committee is trying to raise awareness among farmers about the importance of early detection of the pest, especially when employing new agricultural equipment, urging farmers to disinfect the tools before using them in the fields.