The Waqaa Center in Madinah carries out 12,000 inspection tours

The National Center for Plant Pest and Animal Disease Prevention and Control announced new record-breaking results as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance public health in the Kingdom. In this context, the Madinah branch of the Center for Prevention its field and monitoring programs during the past period, successfully conducting over 12,000 inspection tours and examining more than 153,000 head of livestock. These proactive measures aim to ensure that markets and farms are free from any pathogens that could threaten the region's animal and plant resources.

National leadership in protecting food security in the Kingdom

The “Wiqaa” Center was established as a crucial strategic step aligned with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which aims to achieve sustainable food security and protect vital natural resources. Historically, the agricultural and livestock sectors in the Arabian Peninsula have faced numerous challenges related to transboundary diseases and seasonal pests affecting staple crops such as date palms. Therefore, the Center’s role is to unify preventative efforts and implement global best practices in monitoring and early detection, contributing to the development of an integrated protection system that minimizes economic losses and directly supports local farmers and livestock breeders.

Details of the inspection tours of the Waqqa Center in Madinah

The report issued by the center detailed the field operations, which included more than 6,547 vector control and surveillance tours, in addition to 5,998 monitoring and awareness tours targeting public markets and slaughterhouses. During these intensive campaigns, the technical teams of the Madinah Prevention Center thorough veterinary inspections of 153,038 head of livestock to ensure their complete health and freedom from epidemic and infectious diseases, thus raising the level of compliance with the health and preventive requirements in force in the Kingdom.

Combating agricultural pests and protecting palm oases

Efforts were not limited to animal welfare alone, but extended to protecting vegetation and strategic crops. In the area of ​​agricultural pest control, the center's branch conducted monitoring and surveying operations across a vast area exceeding 37,169 hectares to combat desert locusts and limit their spread. An area of ​​11,870 dunams was also surveyed to combat the red palm weevil and the black leafhopper, pests that pose a direct threat to the date production for which Madinah is renowned worldwide.

The strategic impact of prevention efforts locally and regionally

These intensive activities are of paramount importance on several levels. Locally, these measures ensure the safety of food offered to citizens and residents, as well as the millions of pilgrims and visitors who flock to Madinah throughout the year. Regionally and internationally, curbing the spread of transboundary pests such as the desert locust contributes to protecting regional food security, as the Kingdom is a key partner in international organizations concerned with animal and plant health. The center affirmed its commitment to continuing to implement its preventive plans and intensifying awareness campaigns to ensure the sustainability of the agricultural and livestock sectors.