On May 11, 2009, Queen Rania of Jordan launched the National Programme for Organic Farming Development, which seeks to replace traditional cultivation methods with organic farming in 2 to 5 percent of the Kingdom’s agricultural lands by 2014.
According to a recent study conducted by the KAFD (King Abdullah II Fund for Development) and IFO (Institute for Marketecology), more than 80 percent of the Kingdom’s utilised agricultural lands can be transformed into organic farms. But the shift from traditional to organic farming will not be easy task according to the study, which indicated an absence of local policies supporting organic farming, as well as a shortage of qualified labour and inspection and accreditation institutions.
Organic-world.net, 3 giugno 2009, www.organic-world.net.