Silal signs up 850 Abu Dhabi farms to supply fresh produce

Silal, Abu Dhabi’s new fresh produce and agritech company, has signed agreements with more than 850 local farms in Abu Dhabi to supply more than 30,000 tonnes of fresh produce during the current crop season.

The initiative is in line with Silal’s endeavours to support farmers, promote local food production, and become a leading supplier of high quality, locally farmed fresh produce across the UAE.

Eng Jamal Salem Al Dhaheri, CEO of Silal, said: “Silal amplifies farmers’ capabilities in Abu Dhabi to boost local production of agricultural crops and build strong and smart food supply chains. Silal will continue to expand contract farming in Abu Dhabi and deploy advanced agritech solutions by working with local and international partners. This is to achieve increased volumes of fresh agricultural crop production and raise the UAE’s self-sufficiency in selected products.”

Silal provides farming inputs to its contracted farmers and has a team of agricultural engineers who work in collaboration with farmers to improve production quality and yields and encourage sustainable farming practices.

Silal offers premium pricing options to empower and protect farmers livelihoods from market price volatility. The company operates 16 collection centres across the emirate of Abu Dhabi, and three pack-houses.

It manages a distribution centre where it receives products from local farms, conducts quality control and distributes to customers across the UAE.

Silal has strengthened its collaboration with major retail outlets, wholesalers, food distribution companies, hotels and the catering trade, offering a range of high quality, locally farmed fresh produce across the nation.

Silal will carry out its mandates to diversify food products’ sources and spur the local agri-food industry and will continue its cooperation with Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) to elevate the agricultural sector and support farmers.

Silal manages procurement programmes and strategic stocks of foodstuffs and executes specialised knowledge transfer programmes on desert farming techniques. The company devises projects and initiatives to support the increase in local production of fruits and vegetables for smallholder farmers in the UAE.

Silal is an ADQ company, one of the region’s largest holding companies with a broad portfolio of major enterprises spanning key sectors of Abu Dhabi’s diversified economy. — ashwani@khaleejtimes.com

Ashwani Kumar

I am a newspaperman from the emirate of Abu Dhabi. A journalist at heart. I get my stories from the streets. A south Indian born in the Hindi heartland, I easily connect with people from different nationalities and cultures. I am calm like a monk, sensitive and very patient reporter. On the ground, I cover a range of topics related to community, health, embassy, tourism, transport, business and sports. I will go out on a leg to do what’s right and stand by what I believe in.