Winners of Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation honoured

ABU DHABI / WAM

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court; Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, Chairman of Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation Board of Trustees, attended the award’s winners honouring ceremony, in its 17th session, on Wednesday.
The event was held in the presence of AbdulHakim Elwaer, Assistant Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa.
More than 10 ministers and deputy ministers of agriculture from date-producing countries, alongside directors of regional and international organisations, attended the ceremony. The event also welcomed 52 ambassadors, members of the diplomatic corps in the UAE, members of the award’s Board of Trustees, past winners, and specialists in the field of date palm cultivation.
Sheikh Nahyan praised the commitment of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to agricultural development in the UAE, and in particular to the date palm cultivation sector.
Sheikh Nahyan also extended his sincere thanks to His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed generous patronage and commitment to ensuring that this prestigious international award serves as a genuine reflection of the nation’s strong interest in advancing agricultural development.
He also expressed his pride in the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, which operates under the Erth Zayed Philanthropies umbrella. “This affiliation evokes in our hearts and minds the legacy of the late founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, whose visionary leadership laid the foundation for the UAE’s agricultural renaissance.”
Sheikh Nahyan announced H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Ain Region, as the 2025 Personality of the Year of Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation. He also honoured a number of national and international figures who have contributed significantly to the development and advancement of the date palm cultivation and production sector.
The honourees included HRH Prince Dr. Faisal Bin Mishaal bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Al Qassim Province of Saudi Arabia; Dr. Maitha bint Salem Al Shamsi, UAE Minister of States; Dr. Abdulkareem Mohammed Al Amri, Former President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment & Development; Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Alzaabi, UAE Ambassador to Pakistan; and Faisal Niaz Tirmizi, Ambassador of Pakistan to the UAE.
Sheikh Nahyan honoured the winners of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, in its 17th session, as follows:
The Distinguished Innovative Studies and Modern Technology Category (Equally won by) Dr. Abdulqader Jighly– SuSTATability Statistical Solutions Company, Australia, and Dr. Khaled Michel Hazzouri, Khalifa Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology, UAE, and the Pioneering Development and Productive Projects Category (Equally won by) EDEN Innovations, UAE, and Dr Nawaf Salem Alhajeri, Kuwait University.
For the Pioneering and Sophisticated Innovations Serving the Agricultural Sector Category, won by SPOTTA Company, United Kingdom, as for the Distinguished Producers, Manufacturers and Marketers Category (Equally won by) Khamis Mohammed Khamis Freih Al-Qubaisi of UAE, and Benaoun Gadri Mohammed of Tunisia.
As for the Influential Figure in the Field of Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation Category (Equally won by) Dr. Ghulam Sarwar Markhand of Pakistan, and Dr Sherif Fathy Ali Ibrahim El-Sharbasi of Egypt.
The Minister of Tolerance also announced the launch of the “International Consortium for Red Palm Weevil Control (C4RPWC)’, with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and several local and international organisations. This Consortium represents a timely response to the COP28 and aims to enhance the economic, cultural, and social value of the date palm tree.
In remarks delivered on his behalf by Dr. AbdulHakim Elwaer, Dr. QU Dongyu, Director-General of the FAO, praised the UAE’s efforts in supporting date cultivation. He noted that date production in North Africa has grown by 23% over the past decade, largely due to the expansion of cultivated areas.
The ceremony also featured a short presentation highlighting the accomplishments of the award over the past eighteen years in the field of date palm cultivation (2007–2025).
Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan witnessed the signing of nine memoranda of understanding with several agriculture ministers and directors of regional and international organisations from various countries.