Saudi Arabia is finishing a national Irrigation Practices Code developed with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization that, once fully implemented, is expected to save about 2 billion cubic meters of water a year. The code aims to lift irrigation efficiency across the Kingdom from about 55 percent to more than 70 percent and to bring per-hectare grain water use from 9,750 cubic meters down toward 6,500. SIO chief executive Mohammed bin Zaid Abu Haid framed the rule as part of a larger pivot toward treated wastewater as a strategic resource.
Abu Haid told Asharq Al-Awsat the SIO already manages the Kingdom’s dams and oversees the transport, distribution, and reuse of treated water for urban, industrial, and agricultural purposes. He said rapid economic growth and the rollout of megaprojects are pushing up demand, and the code, in its final stages, will be officially launched during the World Water Forum. The framing matters because the rule’s size gets measured against the scale of reuse infrastructure already under construction.
What the SIO CEO Just Put on the Table
The interview frames treated wastewater as infrastructure, not byproduct. Abu Haid’s remarks to the CEO’s interview on treated wastewater and the new code at Asharq Al-Awsat describe water as “a cornerstone of the Kingdom’s development agenda.” He tied the rise in treated-water demand to economic growth and the rollout of megaprojects across Saudi Arabia.
The conversation placed specific numbers on the savings the code is designed to deliver. Field trials have already shown higher farm productivity, higher farmer incomes, and more efficient water use, Abu Haid said. The SIO developed the code in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The mechanism targets per-hectare water use in grain cultivation as its most concrete lever.
The Saudi Green Initiative, alongside development projects and nature reserves, is one of the main drivers of treated-water demand, Abu Haid said. Urban green-space build-out runs against the same supply constraint.
The Numbers Behind the Pivot
Industrial reuse has been the fastest-moving piece. Treated water use in industry rose by about 50 percent over the past two years, climbing from roughly 20 million cubic meters to 30 million cubic meters by the end of 2025, per Abu Haid. He projects industrial consumption will surpass 100 million cubic meters a year by 2030. Urban reuse has grown off a smaller base but at a faster clip.
| Sector | 2025 use | 2030 target |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial reuse | 30 million m³ | 100 million m³ |
| Urban reuse (parks, green spaces, Saudi Green Initiative) | nearly 13 million m³ | 150 million m³ |
Consumption for parks, green spaces, and projects under the Saudi Green Initiative climbed from about 65,000 cubic meters to nearly 13 million cubic meters, per the interview. Forecasts point to 150 million cubic meters a year by 2030 for urban use alone. The acceleration tracks the rollout of greening programs that treat parks as core infrastructure. The SIO’s role is to make sure supply reaches those projects. The code lands alongside that build-out, not in parallel to it.
How the Irrigation Practices Code Works
The rule is built around two efficiency moves. The Irrigation Practices Code aims to raise farm-level efficiency from about 55 percent to more than 70 percent in the Kingdom, per Abu Haid. It also targets per-hectare water use in grain cultivation, aiming to cut it from 9,750 cubic meters per hectare to about 6,500. The wider ambition lines up with the National Irrigation Center’s separate target of 72 percent water-use efficiency by 2030.
The code is also the formalization of an existing national pilot. The SIO and FAO selected 22 demonstration farms out of 320 sites assessed across Jazan, the Eastern Province, Madinah, Asir, Al-Baha, Hail, Taif, Qassim, Al-Jouf, and Riyadh. The first-phase target is a 20 percent adoption rate of modern irrigation technologies, per FAO.
The pilot was structured around on-the-ground proof. Integrated irrigation systems were installed at the 22 sites, turning them into farmer-owned, live demonstration hubs open to neighboring farms. More than 10 knowledge sessions drew around 300 farmers into practical, field-based training. The work fed directly into the “Code of Irrigation Practices at the Farm Level” now being readied for launch, per FAO.
Smart systems anchor the savings. Thanks to the Kingdom’s digital transformation, farmers can monitor and operate irrigation systems remotely via mobile phones, using digital control units and advanced sensors. National engineers and agri-entrepreneurs were trained in installation and maintenance. Agricultural associations and non-profit organizations received parallel support. The code, then, acts as a reference framework that locks the practices into place.
What 22 Demonstration Farms Already Show
The early numbers are concrete. Per FAO in the 22 demonstration farms across Saudi regions, Jazan mango farms cut water consumption by 19 percent. Al-Baha greenhouse farms saved approximately 24 percent. In Al-Ahsa, profitability from improved date quality increased by more than 200 percent in demonstration fields. Overall irrigation efficiency in the demonstration plots rose from 50 percent to over 92 percent.
I reduced water consumption and saved energy thanks to smart irrigation, and the quality of my dates improved.
The savings came with income gains in several crops. The 22 sites produced mangoes, grapes, dates, and coffee at lower water cost and, in several cases, with markedly better margins.
- Jazan: mango farms cut water consumption by 19 percent, per FAO.
- Al-Dayer, Jazan: a coffee farmer told FAO that the modern system helped revive her cultivation.
- Al-Baha: greenhouse farms saved approximately 24 percent of water, per FAO.
- Al-Ahsa: profitability from improved date quality increased by more than 200 percent in demonstration fields, per FAO.
- Al-Muwawin, Asir: “The automated system reduced water consumption by 40 percent and produced high-quality grapes,” Abdullah Al-Shalhout, Influential Farmer, told FAO.
- Across the pilot, about 300 farmers took part in practical, field-based training at the demonstration sites, per FAO.
The model runs on lead farmers carrying the message. The farmer-to-farmer training approach built around local ambassadors is the delivery engine for the rollout. The wider volume of treated water reaching farms is the precondition the savings depend on. The code is the rule, but treated wastewater is the supply it sits on top of.
A Strategic Pivot, Not a Standalone Rule
The code sits inside a much larger investment plan. Saudi Arabia plans to establish 96 projects to enhance the infrastructure for the reuse of treated water in the agricultural, urban, and industrial sectors, per the 96-project, $4 billion reuse pipeline at Argaam. The estimated cost exceeds $4 billion, or nearly SAR 15 billion. The goal is to hit one of the indicators of the Saudi National Water Strategy: reuse of more than 70 percent of treated water produced locally, with a volume surpassing 2 billion cubic meters by 2030.
The reuse curve is already steep. Nearly 127 million cubic meters of water were reused in 2016, a figure that rose by 300 percent to 508 million cubic meters in 2023. That 2023 total accounts for 26 percent of treated water production in the Kingdom, the share the National Water Strategy targets to push past 70 percent by 2030. A National Irrigation Center is being established separately to bring agriculture’s water-use efficiency up to 72 percent by 2030. The two tracks (the reuse pipeline and the efficiency code) are running together.
- 96 reuse projects in the planned pipeline.
- $4 billion (about SAR 15 billion) estimated total cost.
- 127 million m³ to 508 million m³ reused between 2016 and 2023.
- Reuse share climbing from 26 percent (2023) toward a 70 percent target by 2030.
The SIO has also taken the partnership global. The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the Saudi Irrigation Organization extended cooperation on irrigation and wastewater use in the MENA region under the e-ReWater project, per the e-ReWater MOU signed at the 10th World Water Forum. The platform, powered by artificial intelligence and earth observation data, was made possible by a grant from Google.org. A wider supply-and-demand plan for treated water stretches to 2075, Abu Haid said, designed to keep the country’s reuse trajectory sustainable.
Where the Code Will Be Unveiled
Abu Haid said the project is in its final stages and will be officially launched during the World Water Forum. The phrasing matters: the code is the document that operationalizes the National Water Strategy’s reuse and efficiency targets on the farm. The SIO-FAO collaboration has produced the pilot data the code is built on. The 96-project, $4 billion infrastructure pipeline will move alongside the code, not after it. Saudi Arabia led the region in reusing treated water for irrigation and urban use for more than 45 years, per Abu Haid.
The launch puts the code inside an active calendar of Saudi water diplomacy. Reuse targets, the new code, and the $4 billion pipeline now form a single story the Kingdom will carry into the 7th Arab Water Forum in Jeddah (running 28 June to 1 July 2026) and the 11th World Water Forum in Riyadh in March 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Saudi Arabia’s Irrigation Practices Code?
The Irrigation Practices Code is a national reference framework developed by the Saudi Irrigation Organization in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. It is built to standardize how farms use water across the Kingdom, drawing on the practices proven effective at 22 demonstration farms chosen from 320 assessed sites across regions including Jazan, the Eastern Province, Madinah, Asir, Al-Baha, Hail, Taif, Qassim, Al-Jouf, and Riyadh.
How much water is the code expected to save each year?
Once fully implemented, the code is projected to save about 2 billion cubic meters of water a year, per SIO chief executive Mohammed bin Zaid Abu Haid. The savings come on top of a target to lift irrigation efficiency from about 55 percent to more than 70 percent, and from a separate National Irrigation Center goal of 72 percent water-use efficiency in agriculture by 2030.
When will the code be launched?
Abu Haid said the project is in its final stages and will be officially launched during the World Water Forum. The rule change is being readied for an international water stage while a 96-project, $4 billion treated-water reuse pipeline moves through procurement.
How will the code change farming practices?
The framework targets per-hectare water use in grain cultivation, aiming to reduce it from 9,750 cubic meters per hectare to about 6,500. It also formalizes the systems tested at the SIO-FAO demonstration farms, including remote-monitored smart irrigation, digital control units, and a farmer-to-farmer training model built around lead farmers acting as local ambassadors.
