Volume 58 Issue 5 (October 2024) 895 RESEARCH ARTICLE Indian Journal of Agricultural Research, Volume 58 Issue 5: 895-903 (October 2024) Study the Implications of the Potential Expansion of Organic Agriculture on Self-sufficiency and Production Inputs (Chemical Fertilizers and Pesticides) A.M.K. Ghanem 1 , K.N. Alrwis 1 , O.S. Al-Nashwan 1 , S.A. kamara 2 , H.A.M. Ghanem 3 , S.A. Ahamada 1 10.18805/IJARe.AF-859 ABSTRACT Background: Despite the high average per capita income and the Human Development Index for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the average area of organic farms does not exceed 23.5 thousand hectares during the period 2018-2022. Therefore, this study aimed to measure the impact of potential expansion in organic agriculture on self-sufficiency and production inputs (chemical fertilizers and pesticides). Methods: This study relied on secondary data from the FAOSTAT website and the statistical book issued by the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, in addition to studies and research related to organic agriculture. In achieving its objectives, this study also relied on economic and statistical analysis. Result: This study showed that the productivity of organic farms is lower than that estimated for conventional farms, with rates ranging from a minimum of 19.2% for green fodder crops to a maximum of 74.8% for palm trees. With the doubling of the area of organic farms, a small relative decline in both total production and self-sufficiency of food products is expected. This is due to the modest average area of organic farms and their low productivity compared to conventional farms and most of the area of organic farms is planted with palm trees and fruits. It was also found that with the increase in organic farms by 100%, the amount of savings in chemical fertilizers and pesticides is estimated at 17041.8, 464.0 tons for each, respectively. Finally, the agricultural policy put the producer in front of two options: Namely organic agriculture and good agricultural practices. Therefore, this study recommends the need to compare organic agriculture with good agricultural practices from the point of view of the producer, the country and environmental sustainability. Key words: Chemical fertilizers and pesticides, Local production, Organic agriculture, Self-sufficiency ratio, Traditional agriculture. INTRODUCTION The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia signed an agreement with the German Foundation for Technical Cooperation in the field of organic agriculture, where the agreement includes controls, legislation, standards and training of Saudi cadres to carry out supervision and follow-up. Some agricultural companies began converting part of their production to organic products in 2000, then many companies and farms turned to organic agriculture, as the number of organic farms increased from 48 farms in 2007 to 400 farms by the end of 2021 (Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, 2022). The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture prepared the Saudi National Agriculture Strategy 2030, which included the development of organic agriculture. Organic agriculture in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia faces several problems, the most important of which are: (1) the high prices of organic agriculture inputs and integrated biological control in local markets, (2) the lack of sufficient demand for organic products due to the lack of awareness of consumers of organic products and their high prices in the markets, as the market size of organic products in the Kingdom reached 0.25% of the global market size for the same products of 124.8 billion euros in 2021 (Willer et al., 2023), (3) the unavailability of waste shredding and flipping machines for the production of organic fertilizers, except in some agricultural projects and companies that have obtained the organic agriculture certificate, (4) the unavailability of integrated biological 1 Office of Food Security Studies and Research, Vice Presidency for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 2 Agricultural Economics Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Egypt. 3 Saint Mark’s College, Alexandria, Egypt. Corresponding Author: S.A. Ahamada, Office of Food Security Studies and Research, Vice Presidency for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Email: said.azali2391@gmail.com How to cite this article: Ghanem, A.M.K., Alrwis, K.N., Al- Nashwan, O.S., Kamara, S.A., Ghanem, H.A.M. and Ahamada, S.A. (2024). Study the Implications of the Potential Expansion of Organic Agriculture on Self-sufficiency and Production Inputs (Chemical Fertilizers and Pesticides). Indian Journal of Agricultural Research. 58(5): 895-903. doi: 10.18805/IJARe.AF-859. Submitted: 02-02-2024 Accepted: 06-05-2024 Online: 14-06-2024