Research centre to help Abu Dhabi farmers boost crops

The Baniyas Centre for Agricultural Research will offer training on latest techniques and soil-less irrigation.

A farmer inspects a crop of cucumbers being grown in a greenhouse on the island of Delma, located off the coast of the UAE. Galen Clarke / The National

ABU DHABI // Farmers will be able to discover the latest techniques to help increase their crops at a new research centre due to be up and running by next year.
The Baniyas Centre for Agricultural Research, set up by the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority and the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, will introduce developments in greenhouse, hydroponic and soil-less farming.
"The centre will help us determine what we already have in the country and use the latest technologies to have better production," said Mohammed Al Rayssi, the authority's communications director. "It will also help us to see the new varieties we can plant here."
The centre will be in Baniyas, on the outskirts of the capital, and will be overseen by Holland's Wageningen University, which will provide research and train local staff.
"We're trying to improve what we have right now," Mr Al Rayssi said. "So we're trying to use the latest technologies from around the world because it's something that can serve people here."
The centre will include three 400-square-metre units of closed agricultural systems using modern technology, and two 480sqm units that use conventional technology, plus two protected greenhouses using conventional technology.
"Protected farming is available in Abu Dhabi to a large extent," Mr Al Rayssi said. "There are 10,000 greenhouses over 337 hectares but they use conventional techniques in terms of water use and productivity.
"There's a limited number of farms, only 22 in the emirate, that use modern and conventional techniques."
The latest techniques on greenhouse and soil-less irrigation will be compared with conventional farming. The objective is to enhance crop productivity while recycling and reusing irrigation water.
"We want to test it in our environment," Mr Al Rayssi said. "If it suits our agricultural community, that would definitely be something we are looking to implement across the emirate. Sustainability of the environment and agriculture are the same, so we are trying to look at it from different angles."
The new greenhouses and soil-less techniques are expected to grow about 10 times more food than in open fields.
"The techniques allow farming anywhere, regardless of the soil's nature," Mr Al Rayssi said. "The excess water will be reused for irrigation, and we will use less fertiliser and pesticides while maximising productivity."
Farmers will also benefit as they will be able to control the elements needed to grow crops while producing them year-round.
"We have farms in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and the Western Region and this can serve them," Mr Al Rayssi said. "We are setting this up to respond to this need. It will be a place where farmers can see it for themselves and gain more experience from it. It will be a model for them."
Experts agree the centre can boost farmers' agricultural knowledge.
"It's very important for farmers to be able to learn," said Hoda Jaffal, an agricultural engineer at Al Yousuf Agricultural and Landscaping in Dubai.
"No matter how much experience they have, they still need to know more because they could be familiar with some crops, but if the authority introduces new ones, they can learn how to grow them."
Given the UAE's harsh climate, the centre's focus on greenhouse agriculture is expected to produce more food to feed the country, especially during the summer.
"It's a good idea because it's the best way to grow vegetable and food crops normally in the UAE since the weather is not suitable in summer for regular harvesting," Ms Jaffal said.
Eventually, the centre will provide data about protected farming to farmers across Abu Dhabi.
"Research is development and this is the way that we can introduce and test what we heard around the world on our land," Mr Al Rayssi said.
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