Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture signed five agreements aimed at supporting civil-society organizations working on food conservation. In an announcement dated 8 September 2026, the ministry said the agreements were signed on the sidelines of a meeting chaired by Vice Minister Mansour Al-Mushaiti with branch directors from across the Kingdom. The agreements formed a workstream with five specialized non-profit associations, setting a framework for their participation in food-saving efforts. The ministry presented the initiative as a way to use the associations’ expertise to preserve food products, make better use of surplus and contribute to reducing food loss and waste.

The operational focus is surplus fruit and vegetables at public-benefit markets supervised by the National Company for Agriculture Services. Under the arrangement, participating associations are to help deliver those products to beneficiaries. The stated model seeks to turn market surplus into social and nutritional value for community members. The ministry also said it aims to expand the initiative across supervised public-benefit markets in the Kingdom’s regions. The announcement did not name the five associations, set quantities to be recovered, state how many beneficiaries would be served or publish a rollout timetable. The intended expansion is a goal, not a reported nationwide result.

The ministry described the agreements as cooperation between its market and programme functions and non-profit organizations with specialized food-preservation knowledge. It identified the National Company for Agriculture Services and its General Administration of Non-Profit Sector Organizations as parts of the institutional effort. The ministry connected the work with Saudi Vision 2030 and food security. It said qualified associations would carry out specialized technical activities. It did not publish a budget, transport arrangements, cold-storage capacity, food-safety procedures or a quantified waste-reduction target. The five agreements establish a partnership framework and planned delivery channel; operating data will be needed to assess quantities collected, destinations and beneficiaries.