Abu Dhabi introduces 15 new economic activities for small scale farmers

These initiatives will enable the farmers to directly supply retail outlets their produce

Added's latest initiative enables farmers to sell their produce directly to retailers. Bloomberg

The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (Added) introduced 15 new economic activities to support small-scale farmers and boost agricultural production in the country.

These initiatives, which are conducted in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (Adafsa), will enable the farmers to directly supply retail outlets their produce.

The latest package is aimed at farmers cultivating 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 move brings the total number of farming activities in Abu Dhabi to 46 and will increase local production of fruits and vegetables. The initiative will also boost the contribution of the agriculture sector to the emirate's gross domestic product.

Meanwhile Adafsa will provide technical and advisory support to farms through more than 27 agricultural advisory centres, enabling farmers to build partnerships with sales outlets to sell their products.

“Added’s latest initiative offers a variety of commercial opportunities to local owners of private farms, encouraging them to increase their cultivation and farming activities,” said Rashed Abdul Karim Al Balooshi, undersecretary of Added. “This will help increase the local production of crops and will offer farmers a chance to enter new partnerships with any sales outlets so that they can directly supply their products to them.”

Adafsa also plans to list the farms’ names and their contact details on its digital platform with an aim to connect merchants and retail stores with farm owners. The platform will serve as an additional channel to promote their products, the statement added.

Farmers would also be provided with special licences to sell their produce to retailers, the agency said.