Saudi-Arabia in the spell of organic produce

Organic products in a desert country like Saudi-Arabia? It indeed sounds striking, but in the supermarkets of the country demand is high.The German ecologist Marco Hartmann teaches growers in Saudi-Arabia how to grow vegetables and fruit in line with the eko-hallmark. He is staying in Riyad for a period of two years and each morning finds his way to the ministry of Agriculture, where he, together with seven colleagues of the German association for international cooperation (GIZ), has an office. Together they advise the government of Saudi-Arabia in starting an organic agrarian sector. This is not dependent on aid. The Saudi's pay for it themselves.

The first 65 growers have already changed to organic agriculture with the assistance of GIZ and another 200 growers are working towards this. They are very motivated and insist on participating. Where organic is concerned the first thought in Saudi-Arabia is not about durability. People are mainly interested in their health: to use a lot has a lot of effect is unfortunately the motto of many Saudi agrarians, when plant protection means and fertilizer are concerned. And the word 'healthy' is often shown on the packing there regardless of the contents.

Therefore the people of GIZ have developed a Saudi bio-seal which to a large extent is the same as the European bio-seal. In the meantime there are 30 organic supermarkets spread all over the country and in Riyad and a few other large cities one can even subscribe to a case of organic fruit and vegetables. Sales of these are going well. The demand is clearly larger than the supply.

Consequently the demand for organic products in the country is clearly enormous.
 

Related Pages