IYWF: Fruit nurseries and peer-to-peer learning: Growing skills, growing opportunities in Saudi Arabia
© Khalid Alghamdi
28/04/2026
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) celebrates the International Year of the Woman Farmer to highlight the critical role of rural women in transforming agrifood systems and strengthening resilient livelihoods. Across regions, women farmers are not only crucial contributors to food production but are also drivers of innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainable community development. In Saudi Arabia, aligning with FAO’s context for inclusive and sustainable agriculture, empowering rural women through targeted capacity development initiatives are essential to unlocking women’s potential, enabling a transition from informal, traditional, small-scale activities to well-structured, income-generating agribusinesses that support local food security and economic diversification.
In the highlands of Al Baha, fruit nursery development offers a promising entry point for women’s economic empowerment. Traditionally, many rural women have engaged in backyard cultivation to support household needs and preserve cultural agronomic knowledge. However, limited access to technical training, improved propagation methods and market-oriented business approaches has constrained their ability to scale these activities into viable businesses and sustainable enterprises aligned with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goals .
Through the FAO-supported Women’s Agrifood Rural Advancement (WARFA) initiative, this dynamic began to change. One notable example is Ms. Azza Ahmed Al Ghamdi, who successfully transformed her small-scale cultivation into a thriving nursery enterprise producing ornamental plants, aromatic herbs and fruit tree saplings adapted to local agro-ecological conditions. Building on her experience, Azza became a local trainer, demonstrating how knowledge can evolve into leadership and collective empowerment.
Operating under a structured peer-to-peer learning model, Azza led a three-month training programme for 22 rural women. Moving beyond traditional classroom-based approaches, the training emphasized hands-on learning and continuous mentorship. Participants acquired practical skills in vegetative propagation, grafting techniques and nursery establishment, while also gaining insights into basic agribusiness management tailored to local market opportunities.
Azza providing hands-on training on pruning techniques and grafting practices © Khalid Alghamdi
This peer-driven approach proved particularly effective. Learning directly from a successful practitioner within their own community and cultural setting helped participants relate technical concepts to real-life conditions of their farming environments. It also strengthened trust, confidence and motivation, enabling women to envision themselves as entrepreneurs rather than solely producers.
As a result of the training, the participating women began to apply improved nursery practices and explore opportunities to establish small-scale enterprises. Recognition and support of the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture is further facilitating trainees to access land and technical assistance to start their own nurseries. This will mark an important shift toward more structured and market-oriented engagement in the rural areas that boost rural livelihood.
Beyond economic benefits, such initiatives contribute to broader social transformation through increased confidence, stronger peer networks and greater visibility within their communities. Trained participants can share knowledge with others, creating a multiplier effect that extended the benefits beyond the cohort.
Azza’s journey reflects this transformation:
“By sharing what I have learned, I realized that empowering other women also strengthens my own path. Today, we are growing not only plants, but opportunities for our communities.”