Abu Dhabi farmers can now sell their products directly to retail stores

Abu Dhabi - The emirate has introduced 15 new economic activities for small-scale farmers, in a bid to boost the agricultural sector.

With the special licences issued to the farmers in Abu Dhabi, they can now sell their products directly to merchants and retail stores, an official said on Saturday.
Saeed Al Bahri Salem Al Ameri, director-general of the Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA), said that the issuance of special licenses authorise farmers to engage in marketing activities.
"There is no doubt that this is going to reflect positively on agricultural practices and post-harvest operations, which in turn will lead to high economic return from agriculture sector," he said. The emirate has introduced 15 new economic activities for small-scale farmers, in a bid to boost the agricultural sector.
The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (Added), in cooperation with the ADAFSA, aims to raise the agricultural sector's contribution to the GDP and enable farmers to directly supply their products to sales outlets.
Rashed Abdul Karim Al Balooshi, undersecretary of Added, said the new package brings the total number of farming activities in Abu Dhabi to 46 and noted the local production of fruits and vegetables has increased to more than 70 types.
Al Ameri said the ADAFSA is committed to providing all forms of support to farms with commercial licences. It plans to list farms' names and contact details on its website to provide reference for merchants and retail stores, so that they can reach out to farm owners and buy their products.
Adopt new high-yielding crops
He said the authority provides advisory and technical support services through 27 centres to help farmers adopt the sector's ideal farming practices and tips on post-harvest operations.
The latest package of activities is aimed at small-scale producers who cultivate wheat, corn, barley, leguminous vegetables, oil seeds, vegetables, roots, tubers, melons, flowers, buds, palms, fruits, citrus fruits, nuts, and fruit seeds from which spices and aromatic plants are extracted.
The authority is keen to introduce and adopt new high-yielding crops after ensuring their compatibility with the local environmental conditions. These include figs, olives, papaya, pineapple, cranberries, raspberries and blackberries. Around 27 citrus crops have been successfully produced so far.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com 

• Abu Dhabi