Saudi Arabia is set to support its farmers in promoting organic farming and to phase out production of all water intensive crops that are depleting the kingdom’s scarce water supplies, according to a report.

Inaugurating a week-long Agriculture Festival in Riyadh, Khlaid M Al-Fuhaid, Deputy Ministry for Agriculture, was quoted as saying that the organic sector will further grow over the coming years, said the Arab News report.

”The total number of organic farms in the kingdom exceeds 130 today. Saudi Arabia's organic sector is currently undergoing transformation, which is primarily driven by the support extended by the Ministry of Agriculture and the initiative of private sector stakeholders,” he was quoted as saying.

The total area of organic farms in the kingdom is over 35,000 hectares, while a recent study has predicted that organic farms will account for around five per cent of farming area in the by 2017, said the report.

In the context of depreciating water resources, the kingdom has plans in place to phase out production of all water-consuming crops. The crops include wheat, soya beans and animal fodder, it added.