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ABU DHABI / WAM
The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) has launched the “Agricultural Registry†project to build an accurate and comprehensive database for the agricultural sector in the Abu Dhabi Emirate.
It will help estimate local production, update farm and farm owners’ data, and link such data directly to the databases of Abu Dhabi Digital Authority and Statistics Centre — Abu Dhabi.
ADAFSA’s field teams have begun collecting data using GIS technology. Meanwhile, technical support teams are working on auditing and analysing data to come up with statistical indicators that shape the future of the agriculture sector in Abu Dhabi, develop plans to support its sustainability, achieve food security and enhance biosecurity systems.
In this regard, Mubarak Ali Al Qusaili Al Mansouri, Executive Director of Agricultural Affairs Sector at ADAFSA, said, “This is the first-ever agricultural registry in Abu Dhabi Emirate, which estimates production of conventional and commercial farms, as well as building an accurate and comprehensive database for Abu Dhabi’s agricultural sector.â€
Developing the registry requires conducting a comprehensive survey of the data of about 24,018 agricultural holdings alongside large-scale commercial in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra, he stated.
According to Al Mansouri, the registry will provide information about farm owners and workers, general features of each holding, such as soil type, salinity and production volume, crop types cultivated in open-field or greenhouses throughout the season, negative practices that are harmful to natural resources, abandoned farms, and on-farm practices.