The UAE plans to almost triple its number of organic farms by June 2011, a senior official has revealed.
The country has 13 organic farms at present and is planning to have 23 more by next summer under plans to develop self sufficiency for vegetables.
Mansour Al Mansouri, director of agricultural development at the Ministry said work would start in September to transform 23 conventional farms into organic orchards, news agency WAM reported.
He added in a statement to the Arabic daily Al Ittiahad that the Ministry is intending to regulate marketing of locally produced or imported organic products in partnership with the private sector.
Under new laws, he said organic farmers will be given trademarks for their products after the regulator confirms they conform with accredited specifications and benchmarks.
He also said that last year the UAE’s northern, central and eastern regions had 585 green houses, each stretching 240 square metres.
These hoop houses are producing crops around the year as part of efforts achieve self-sufficiency from vegetables, he said.
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