The Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia has approved 20 coffee research project grants to promote the spread of Saudi coffee culture.

Recently, according to the Saudi News Agency, the Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia has approved 20 grants for coffee research projects from Saudi Arabia and other countries.

The initiative was launched with the Saudi Coffee Company, a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund, to encourage research on Saudi coffee as part of the Kingdom's heritage, and the grant will also be used to help researchers and experts from a range of fields interested in studying all aspects of coffee. In the whole research process, researchers will receive financial and academic support, and extend to the publication of scientific papers.

These grants include three main elements. The first is to focus on coffee in the Arabian Peninsula and to conduct an in-depth study of the historical origin, production process and domestic promotion of coffee. The second is to explore the intangible cultural heritage around Saudi coffee and study the relevant knowledge, skills, social traditions, practices and culture. Finally, there is support for Saudi coffee cultivation, production, improving competitiveness and promoting the transformation of the Saudi economy to a sustainable model to support the region.

The initiative was first proposed in 2022 and was launched by the Ministry of Culture with the support of the quality of Life Plan, one of the Saudi vision projects for 2030. For a long time, Saudi Arabia's economy has been mainly dependent on oil development, but oil resources are limited, so Saudi Arabia is getting rid of the profitable oil economy and plans to promote economic growth by rapidly expanding the coffee industry.

As early as the 13th century, Arabs began to drink coffee, which is an important part of Saudi culture and an indispensable part of life. As a result, Saudi Arabia has become one of the top ten coffee consumers in the world, and achieving self-sufficiency is one of the goals of the 2030 vision plan. Launched in 2016 by Crown Prince Mohamed Ben Salman, Vision 2030 opens a new path for a more diversified economy to promote investment and business opportunities and achieve economic diversification and social liberalization.

Coffee development is also one of the plans for the 2030 vision. At present, Saudi Arabia has successfully planted 400000 coffee trees with an annual output of 800 tons of raw coffee beans, including 2535 coffee farms. And plans to expand coffee cultivation by 2026, with an estimated 1.2 million new coffee trees. In addition, a professional coffee institute has been launched to improve the knowledge and professional skills of coffee cultivation, processing and roasting for Saudi farmers, entrepreneurs and coffee lovers. These projects will effectively promote the global spread of Saudi coffee culture.