The highway leading west from Saudi Arabia’s capital city weaves through reddish dunes in the Ad-Dahna Desert, where summertime temperatures can surpass 50 degrees Celsius. About two hours into a drive, a cluster of modern, factory-style buildings materializes through the heat haze.
This remote region, known as Shaqra, is a hub in the petrostate’s blueprint to breed more chickens and be the foremost farmer in the Middle East. A local processing plant owned by Tanmiah Food handles about 150,000 birds a day to supply McDonald’s, Popeyes and Subway outlets, among others.
One of the hottest, driest places on Earth has almost doubled poultry production in the past decade as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pushes for food self-sufficiency. The kingdom imports about 80% of what it eats, triggering worries about shortages in a time of rising geopolitical tensions, contagious animal diseases and stressed supply chains.
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