‘Food diversity a strategic priority in UAE and world’

Dubai / Emirates Business

HE Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, the UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, recently visited an organic vegetables and fruits farm in Al Foah City, Al Ain, which is owned by Elite Agro, one of the largest organic food producers and distributers in the UAE.
The visit came as part of the mission of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment to promote national companies who work in the field of food diversity fostering the UAE’s efforts to transform towards the green development adopting the path of green economy.
The visit is also aimed at supporting the national initiatives, promoting healthy competition, creating job opportunities, attracting investments and supporting innovation, knowledge and efficiency in using natural resources that will in turn contribute towards achieving the goals of sustainable development.
The Ministry’s delegation was received by HE Saeed Al Bahri, Cluster Managing Director of Elite Agro Group and other company officials, who briefed the delegation on the activities of the company in the field of production and marketing of fruits and vegetables.
The Minister also inspected the production operations, types of products and some future plans of the company, where he praised the huge production capacity, product quality and advanced technologies used in the farming, in addition to its capacity to supply local and regional markets with organic and healthy products.
“The Ministry is keen to motivate national projects and companies to invest and innovate in the field of green economy to promote the sustainable economic and social development in the country as part of the ‘Green Economy for Sustainable
Development’ initiative launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai,” Dr Al Zeyoudi said.
“The UAE government has been promoting the food production industry with great importance and high priority as we are keen to find out new ways to increase its contribution to the food security and diversification of our national economy,” he said.
“We focus on the adoption of appropriate and viable agricultural patterns of climate-smart agriculture, such as hydroponics, organic and protected agriculture. We also concentrate on employing modern techniques, systems, innovative solutions and best practices to cope with the pressures and challenges faced by the sector, in addition to strengthening the partnership initiatives between the public and private sectors” Al Zeyoudi added.
“Elite Agro aspires to write a new green history on the sands of UAE. We are one of the leading producers and distributors of daily organic vegetables and fruits in the region and our primary objective always are quality and affordability. We engage in growing, sourcing, importing and marketing a wide range of high quality agricultural products through world class technology and effective distribution chain, with the most economic use of natural resources conserving water energy and land”, said Al Bahri.
“Quality and food safety are the No.1 priority across all of our operations. This emphasis starts at the field and harvesting levels. EAG associates only with suppliers that adhere to the most rigorous industry and regulatory standards,” he said.
“The company follows the best post-harvest practices and is displaying a selection of its fresh produce grown in the UAE, Serbia and Morocco. We also utilize technologies such as flow-wrap for fresh produce distribution,” he added.