Saudi Arabia Focusing on Organic Farming
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Government
Saudi Arabia has expressed its support to farmers in promoting organic farming, and to phase out production of all water intensive crops that are depleting the country's scarce water supplies
Saudi Arabia has expressed its support to farmers in promoting organic farming, and to phase out production of all water intensive crops that are depleting the country's scarce water supplies.
"The total number of organic farms in the Kingdom exceeds 130 today," said Khlaid M. Al-Fuhaid, deputy minister for agriculture, on Wednesday night.
Al-Fuhaid said that "Saudi Arabia's organic sector is currently undergoing transformation, which is primarily driven by the support extended by the Ministry of Agriculture and the initiative of private sector stakeholders." The deputy minister was speaking after inaugurating a week-long Agriculture Festival at the Khuraish Road Lulu Hypermarket here in Riyadh.
The inaugural ceremony of the ‘Saudi Agro Fresh Fest From Our Land' in Riyadh was attended by top Saudi officials and Lulu executives including Bashar Naser Al-Basher, the chief of Lulu Administration; Allewi Al-Kamshe, Human Resources manager; Abdullah Al-Enizy, Public Relations manager; and Shehim Mohamed Unni, the regional director. The same event was inaugurated at Lulu Hypermarket in Alkhobar by Thariq Al-Mulhim, director of Agricultural Extension Department in the Eastern Province.
Referring to the organic agriculture policy of theministry, he said that further growth of organic sector can be expected over the coming years. To this end, it is important to note that the total area of organic farms in the Kingdom is over 35,000 hectares. A recent study predicted that organic farms will account for around five percent of farming area in the Kingdom by the year 2017.
In the context of depreciating water resources, Al-Fuhaid said that Saudi Arabia has plans in place to phase out production of all water-consuming crops. The crops include wheat, soya beans and animal fodder. The Kingdom needs around 2.6 million tons of wheat annually, and the Saudi government said last year it would rely entirely on wheat imports by 2016.
Source: Arab News
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