Mohammad Al-Furaih: Godfather of Greenhouse Farming in Kuwait
Since graduating with a degree in agricultural engineering in 1971 from the University of California, he has never stopped conducting experiments and research, and he continues to participate annually in five international and regional exhibitions focused on agriculture and the food industry, always remaining “at the forefront of events.”
■ He is the pioneer of agriculture and greenhouses in Kuwait and an expert in poultry farming and production. Today, he is a leading authority in the Gulf and the Arab world, particularly in poultry farming, having contributed to the establishment of the first major agricultural company for broiler and layer chicken farming in Kuwait.
■ Kuwait’s problem in agriculture lies in mismanagement: there is water waste, a lag in technology adoption, and fragmented government support for products without mandatory specifications—all of which, as “Bu Badr” observes, “have caused us to fall behind our neighbors in the region.”
■ Open-field farming is no longer viable—it is a waste of time. We are in the era of protected agriculture and greenhouses, which have evolved into what is now known as underground farming. Therefore, he urges stakeholders to focus on protected agriculture, as well as cooling and ventilation systems, as these are the key to solving our problems.
■ He cites an example of Kuwait’s lag in agriculture and compares the yield per square meter here with that in the Netherlands, stating: “In Kuwait, a square meter yields between 10 and 15 kilograms, while in the Netherlands it yields 110 kilograms. The difference lies in the use of technology, particularly the protected greenhouse, where everything is controlled.”
■ Most of those in charge of the agricultural sector are non-scientists; consequently, they have not developed plans or provided complete specifications and guidelines on how to build greenhouses, but rather have let things run wild. They began in the early 1980s with cheap greenhouses that fell into disrepair after a short time: He views these people as lacking scientific expertise, and even if some do possess it, they contribute little of note.
■ He believes in the saying, “The bold succeed in life.” This is the path he followed. Before embarking on the construction of greenhouses, he visited the world’s leading countries in this field, met with pioneering companies, and got to know the successful and influential figures to gain a close-up view of where they had reached and what they had accomplished. From there, he set out, and thus his start was successful.
■ In the 1970s, Kuwait was among the first to establish poultry farms—integrated facilities offering all services, including broiler chickens, layer chickens, hatcheries, and feed. Today, however, it has fallen behind Saudi Arabia and the UAE in terms of volume and production. They have evolved while we have stood still. They imported grandparent stock, which produces the parent stock, and this in turn produces the hatching stock. In Kuwait, however, only the parent stock produces hatching eggs for broiler chickens.
■ He has spent his entire career in protected agriculture and the food industry. He graduated from the University of California, the most renowned institution in this field. He returned to Kuwait to work in the Agriculture Department of the Public Works Authority and rose through the ranks step by step until he owned the most important poultry plant and became the first to establish large-scale greenhouses in Kuwait.
■ He established the first large-scale, scientifically and commercially managed poultry farm in 1975. He was the owner of the first poultry slaughterhouse in Kuwait (1977), the first to establish a feed mill with a capacity of 20 tons per hour, and the first to launch a “laying hen” project producing 80 to 100 million eggs per year.
■ The spiritual father of protected agriculture in Kuwait, he was among the first pioneers to build a greenhouse covering 20,000 square meters. He introduced liquid fertilizers mixed with water and brought new technology in this field—specifically, “dissolving fertilizer in water”—by promoting drip irrigation and importing specialized systems from the Netherlands.
Biography ● Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Fraih. ● Born in 1948 in Al-Qibla, Kuwait. ● Holds a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering, specializing in Food Industries, from the University of California (1971); a certificate in the application of standard specifications from Moscow State University (Russia) (1973); and has completed several courses in bank management (1987). ● Held the following positions: Standards Engineer, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Industrial Affairs, responsible for developing standards and technical proposals for the food industry (1971). ● Project Engineer – Central Poultry Processing Plant, Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Public Works; designed the first poultry processing project in the State of Kuwait (1974). ● Managing Director – Kuwait United Poultry Company (1975–1981); established and operated the first and largest poultry project in the Arabian Gulf region. ● Founded and managed the Burgan Food and Agricultural Industries Corporation; oversaw the design and implementation of projects in the poultry industry, such as: the installation and operation of most poultry houses, hatcheries, egg sorting and packing centers, and poultry processing plants (1981–2006) ● Prepared technical and economic studies for a group of projects in the poultry industry. ● Executive Director – Burgan Agricultural Company (2003–2006). ● Member of the Board of Directors of the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs (2006–2009). ● Works as a consultant in the food and agricultural industries. ● Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Poultry Breeders Association (2007–2009). ● Secretary of the World Poultry Breeders Association (1981–1984). ● Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kuwaiti Federation of Agricultural Materials and Supplies Traders. ● He has received numerous certificates of appreciation for his projects and work in the fields of agriculture and food. ● He has published a collection of his research and articles in specialized poultry and agriculture journals.
His Sons and Agriculture His eldest son, Badr, studied business administration but chose to pursue agriculture by personal decision. As for Abdulrahman, he switched from studying media at the university in his first year to agriculture at the University of Michigan in the U.S., then went on to the world’s leading agricultural university in the Netherlands (Wageningen), graduating as the first Kuwaiti to do so. He translated an article published by National Geographic magazine in its September 2007 issue titled “A Small Country Feeds the World”—referring to the Netherlands—and how modern agriculture there has developed and is geared toward feeding the world by 2050. The country is famous for its protected agricultural greenhouses and is one of the largest producers and exporters of tomatoes, as well as the main source of vegetable seeds, and is home to the most important agricultural research university, Wageningen University.
No One Reads He complained about the lack of interest in reading and the general decline in the readership. He has published numerous articles and research papers but has received no inquiries or questions about any of the information he presented. In his view, there is a lack of seriousness on the part of the government, farmers, and citizens—they are equally negligent.
Annual Research and Experiments He established a center for agricultural research and experiments in the Abdali area. Every year, he conducts experiments on various varieties of potatoes and vegetables in Al-Wafra and Abdali, inviting farmers to benefit from them. Additionally, he designed and built protected greenhouses for both Kuwait University and the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research.
Agencies and Organizations Several state agencies are involved in the agriculture and food sector, including: the Public Authority for Agriculture and Fish Resources; the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research; the Agricultural Portfolio (Industrial Bank); the Kuwaiti Federation of Food Merchants; and the Kuwaiti Farmers’ Union.