RIYADH: The Ministry of Agriculture has moved to reassure the public that the E.coli “cucumber bacterium” outbreak that has struck Europe poses no threat to the Kingdom. “The Kingdom imports no vegetables from Europe,” said Minister Abdul Rahman Balghunaim in light of the announcement Saturday of an import ban. “That's why there are no fears. Measures in both the legislation of official bodies and at entry points into the country through which fresh agricultural products come are in place to protect the public.” Balghunaim said the ministry was in constant touch with the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) and that emergency measures were ready to confront “any problem that occurs in the world”. Saudi Arabia, he said, produces 85 percent of its own vegetable consumption. “Most of our imports come from Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Yemen and Jordan,” he said. He added that the ministry is making serious steps towards the production of organic produce and that the initial phases of the strategy include selecting a group of farmers and providing them with proper training. A further group will be selected in the second phase and 20 organic farm projects will be introduced in various parts of the country. “Currently we are concentrating on training and building the skills needed for specialized farmers in organic farming management and in a research center in Qassim,” Balghunaim said. The ministry held a workshop in Riyadh Sunday with the collaboration of the Saudi Organic Farming Society and the FIBL Institute from Switzerland, which specializes in organic farming research, to look at organic farming activity in the Kingdom and the marketing of organic products and discuss a plan for the development.
