Farmer Humaid Al Zaabi, 52, a retired government employee, has been the leading Emirati producer of organic fertiliser and vermicompost in the UAE for more than seven years.
He owns Sara Nursery in Ajman, producing 150 to 200 tonnes of organic fertiliser every month to enhance soil productivity and reduce environmental pollution caused by excessive use of chemical alternatives.
The fertiliser is produced by recycling organic waste such as fruit and vegetable scraps, eggshells, and livestock manure, but Mr Al Zaabi is also vermicomposting, which involves earthworms converting organic waste into nutrient-rich manure.
"I've loved farming and nature since childhood,” Mr Al Zaabi told The National.
“My interest in agriculture grew through reading and joining farming communities and my goal has always been to support and protect the environment, not for commercial purposes.”
A 20kg bag, originally priced at Dh20, is now available at a discounted rate of Dh5 throughout the summer to encourage home gardening.
Vermicomposting
Mr Al Zaabi said the vermicomposting process involves placing worms in regular soil covered with cardboard layers, which are replaced with egg cartons as a form of recycling.
The worms are fed a mix of vegetable and fruit waste, which they excrete as organic fertiliser.
This soil is then processed in a cylindrical machine to separate the ready fertiliser from unprocessed waste and the worms themselves. The finished product is bagged and sold at Dh200 but is now offered at Dh50 as part of Humaid's summer discount scheme.
Unprocessed soil and worms are returned to the beds to continue the composting process.
“This contributes to both agricultural productivity and environmental conservation,” he said.
A self-taught farmer, Mr Al Zaabi attributes his success to the enthusiasm he has for agriculture. His journey into organic fertiliser production began as he worked on a small plot between his father's and brother's homes in the Mushrif area almost 10 years ago.
“One of the significant challenges I faced, like many farmers, was finding effective fertilisers for my plants,” he said.
“It's important to know that plants, just like humans, enjoy and benefit from what nourishes them.”
He said he started looking for a solution and his search led him to experiment with producing his own fertiliser.
A winning formula
Nearly seven years ago, his efforts caught the attention of Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Ruler of Ajman, who visited Mr Al Zaabi's first farm.
Three months later, he was given the current plot for his nursery, which he named Sara, after his grandmother.
“Ajman Municipality supplies us with vegetable and fruit waste and eggshells almost daily, while livestock and animal farm owners provide animal waste,” he said.
“We dry these in an open area on the farm to convert them into compost, which we use on our farm and sell to other farmers.”
Engineer Khalid Al Hosani, executive director of the Public Health and Environment Sector at Ajman Municipality and Planning Department, said the department supports all pioneering initiatives in sustainability.
Among such initiatives that aim to preserve the environment and promote recycling is the project by Mr Al Zaabi, he said.
“The department has supplied Humaid's nursery with inedible organic materials from vegetables, fruits, and agricultural waste to continue recycling them by mixing them with animal waste to produce compost,” he said.
“At the department we encourage food waste recycling initiatives instead of wasting it or letting it become a source of methane emissions, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.”
A relationship with nature
Mr Al Zaabi believes his mission is also to educate the community about the benefits of organic waste recycling.
“I don't just sell the fertiliser that I produce, I also teach people how to make use of fruit and vegetable waste at home,” he said.
“I conduct lectures for farm visitors, and workshops for government employees in Ajman, Sharjah, and Umm Al Quwain, and pupils. Two years ago I began providing space on the farm for events to connect people with nature and encourage home gardening.”
Mr Al Zaabi believes that if every household planted and harvested even 10kg of fruit and vegetables, it would promote healthy eating and contribute to food security.
“The moment of picking the fruit is the strongest factor that enhances a person's relationship with nature, and this is what I aim to help achieve,” he said.
He is also venturing into rice cultivation, a project he started about a year ago with seeds from India.
