Mountainous and famed rose farms in Taif has become a major fragrance production hub

Taif's renowned and hilly rose farms have grown into a key center for the manufacturing of fragrances, generating over 550 million blooms a year and a multimillion dollar economic engine. Covering an area of 270 hectares, about 910 rose farms care for 1.14 million bushes in locations such as Al-Hada, Al-Shifa, Wadi Muharram, Al-Wahat, and Al-Wahit, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

A rainbow of petals unfolds across terraced fields in March and April, providing more than 70 firms and laboratories devoted to extracting and creating more than 80 sought-after derivatives that are in high demand in the home market, which is valued at SR64 million ($17 million). With 84,450 roses in a basket, the aromatic crops have turned the hilly province into a global rose capital that has even broken world records.

Al-Khalif recognizes that cooperative efforts with local authorities are essential to the success of these events, especially the Rose Festival, which attracts a lot of tourists.

In addition to lectures, workshops, and other events catered just for fans of Taif's roses, guests are given the opportunity to witness the distillation process firsthand.

In Taif, the ministry's headquarters has a special section set aside for Taif roses. Reef also has the goal of forming a cooperative group to promote Taif's rose production and adopting tissue culture propagation for seedlings.

Al-Qadi clarified that the ministry actively guides and educates rose farmers on contemporary strategies to boost their yield. As part of Saudi Arabia and Bulgaria's collaborative efforts, a particular cohort of rose farmers was dispatched to Bulgaria last year. 

The Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture launched this program with the goals of boosting progress in rose production, distillation, and diverse applications in medicine and cosmetics, as well as facilitating knowledge sharing and improving farmers' abilities.

The Taif office of the ministry is actively involved in offering vital support services to nearby farmers with the goal of increasing their rose-growing production. These services include advice on agriculture, projects to restore agricultural terraces, and rainwater harvesting plans designed especially for Taif's rose farmers.

In order to support agricultural activities, the ministry also initiates the building of necessary water infrastructure, such as tanks and barriers, and assists in the installation of irrigation networks. 

The ministry highlights the significance of sustainable practices and urges small-scale growers of roses to adopt and apply best practices in agriculture. It also offers them useful insights into utilizing cutting-edge technologies and optimizing rose production methods, such as essential oil extraction as part of a value chain development strategy.