UAE: The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed launched a new strategic plan under Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority for 2022-2025 on Tuesday, July 12.
Sheikh Mansour stated that the new strategy strives to stimulate the agriculture and food production sector and raise its contribution to the GDP of the UAE.
The new plan is as per the idea of the President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed and the Abu Dhabi government’s goals to launch a knowledge-based economy and get sustainable agricultural development, he stated.
The director-general of ADAFSA, Saeed Al Ameri, stated that the authority’s new strategy shows the UAE leadership’s high level of support to the sector and will help to assure the success of the ABU Dhabi government’s steps to diversify the economy.
ADAFSA is observed by Sheikh Mansour and strives to get self-sufficiency, which reached 84% in nine selected food products in 2021.
The new strategy illustrates a road map for establishing sustainable food systems, increases agricultural sustainability rates to 66 per cent, compared to 46 per cent currently, addresses the sector’s challenges, and lessens the use of groundwater in agriculture by 500 million cubic metres between the time of 2022 and 2025, stated Mr Al Ameri.
The plan also aims at promoting efficient collaborations with entities operating in the agriculture and food production sector via the use of technology and artificial intelligence to build better capacities for the industry.
Sheikh Mansour also praised the efforts of employees of ADAFSA, who have accomplished many achievements in terms of assuring the sector’s sustainability.