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ABU DHABI/WAM
His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Presidential Court and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA), reviewed the key indicators of the Authority’s 2022-2025 strategic plan and its achievements aimed at boosting the agriculture and food sector’s contribution to Abu Dhabi’s GDP.
This initiative aligns with the Abu Dhabi government’s vision to build a diversified economy, promote sustainable agricultural development, and achieve global leadership in food security.
This came as His Highness met with a delegation from ADAFSA at his office in Qasr Al Watan, Abu Dhabi.
During the meeting, the competitive indicators were discussed, revealing a 96 percent rate in the food safety index and a 48.8 percent rate in the agricultural sustainability index for 2023.
His Highness was also briefed on ADAFSA’s major achievements in the agricultural sector, both animal and plant, for 2023.
The strategic indicator achievement rate reached 97.6 percent, while the completion rate for strategic projects was 98.7 percent. Notable projects included developing a roadmap for the agricultural genome, creating a sustainable agricultural development plan, launching the “Zadna Rating” programme for evaluating food establishments, establishing a data platform for agriculture and food security, implementing air monitoring on farms, launching a programme to reduce food loss and waste, developing a smart support model, and establishing the “Collaborating Centre for Camel Diseases,” the first of its kind globally.
The food loss and waste index in Abu Dhabi, measured for the first time, was recorded at 162 kilogrammes per person, according to the Economist report.
The agricultural sector contributed AED 14.5 billion to Abu Dhabi’s GDP, with total agricultural production reaching 344,228 tonnes. The total farm area was 82,733 square kilometres, with 1,636,959 forest and fruit trees planted. Additionally, 1,530 farms obtained the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certificate, and water consumption in the agricultural sector decreased to 1.89 billion cubic metres from 2 billion cubic metres in 2019.
The feed market, supporting 40,000 breeders across the UAE, achieved sales of AED 1.72 billion since its launch in June 2023, while the Livestock Auction Platform generated AED 15.5 million from 42 auctions since its launch at the end of 2022.
Veterinary services were provided to approximately 566,710 livestock, with 10 million vaccination doses administered in 2023.
Since 2019, ADAFSA has won 16 local and international awards, including the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Award, the Golden Bridge Awards, the ACMG Award, the AgriNext Awards, the Stevie International Awards, and the Digital Government Award.
The strategic plan serves as a roadmap for establishing sustainable food systems, addressing sector challenges, enhancing agricultural sustainability, and reducing groundwater use in agriculture.