UAE to have 40 organic farms by June 2011

The UAE has 13 organic farms at present and is planning to have 23 more by June 2011, raising to 40 the total number of organic farms in the country.

"Thirteen organic farms registered with the Ministry of Environment and Water up to the half of the current year, an increase of 25 per cent over the same period last year," Mansour Al Mansouri, Director of Agricultural Development at the Ministry said.

"We will commence work next September to transform 23 conventional farms into organic orchards by June 2011," he added in a statement to the Arabic daily 'Al Ittiahd'.

He indicated that the ministry started in July to offer farmers 172 shade, cool canopies at half prices.

The distribution process will continue until the end of the current year, he said.

According to him, the ministry is intending to regulate marketing of locally produced or imported organic products in partnership with the private sector.

The ministry has almost completed drafting of the executive regulations of the federal law no five of 2009 regarding organic inputs and products, he said.

Under the law, he explained, organic farmers will be given trade marks for their products after the regulator makes sure that these items conform with accredited specifications and benchmarks.

He said that last year the 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.

The basic goals of organic agriculture production are to develop sustainable farming system with regard to the following principles -protecting human being health; achieving distinguished food production in quantity and quality; maximising use of renewable resources for the applied systems of production; seeking the harmonisd balance of corps production and animal breeding; adopting the suitable conditions for cattle and poultry to live freely within their instinctive behaviour and minimising all forms of pollution.