Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) together with the Farmers' Services Center (FSC) today officially launched Zera�atona (�our agriculture�) Campaign which aims to bring centre stage the sustainable agriculture strategy in line with Abu Dhabi�s 2030 Vision whilst defining methods of streamlining agricultural marketing policies that allow farmers to adapt to new market developments.

In the press conference held to unveil this campaign, ADFCA and FSC highlighted the need for furthering and implementing initiatives to fuel the agriculture sector in the Emirate. The campaign seeks to ensure economic diversification and agricultural sustainability through preserving vital natural resources, motivating farmers to adopt state-of-the-art technologies and promoting local produce.

As highlighted at the press conference, ADFCA�s Agricultural Affairs Sector will have a legislative and monitoring role alongside managing and streamlining government support programmes emirate-wide with a view to make farming more sustainable and lucrative. FSC will provide agricultural services and strengthen awareness, besides helping farmers market their produce according to the best practices and line with Abu Dhabi�s agricultural sustainability plans outlined in ADFCA�s strategies.

HE Khalifa Al-Ali, the Managing Director and Board Member of FSC, said: �ADFCA and FSC aim to arm farmers with all the means required to raise the bar on the agriculture sector and attain its strategic objectives through constant outreach to and coordination with farmers. The drive will acquaint the farmers with the sector�s goals and priorities while taking a closer look at their challenges and problems and the ways and means to overcome them.�

�This Campaign therefore aims to outreach farmers, support them and refresh their expertise whilst motivating them to adopt best agricultural practices deemed essential to preserve their land, improve agricultural produce, protect the environment in general, preserve water, and ensure better income for the farmers�, HE added.

Stressing how this campaign will promote agricultural marketing methods and help generate better income for farmers, Al Ali pointed out that both ADFCA and FSC are committed to streamlining the locally-grown produce by highlighting their relavtive benefits and advantages such as their straight-from-the-farm freshness, their proximity to the markets and the suppliers, easier and faster transportation and high quality. 

�This Campaign also seeks to achieve a number of other targets such as encouraging farmers to adopt state-of-the-art agricultural methods that preserve water, develop a plan for agricultural production, raise the bar on production standards, adopt new agricultural technologies, and win consumers� confidence with an aim to provide better future for generations to come whilst fueling plans geared to achieve food security,� HE concluded.

HE Mubarak Ali Mohamed Al Mansouri, Executive Director of Agriculture Sector, said that the campaign was part of a host of initiatives for an agricultural renaissance in the emirate. ""This campaign is one of various initiatives undertaken by ADFCA with an aim to raise the bar of the agricultural sector in Abu Dhabi through bettering the working conditions of farmers and farm owners whilst streamlining the locally-grown produce to compete with high-quality produces from other parts of the world. The primary objective behind this campaign is to shed light on the vision and strategy of ADFCA for the farming sector. We also want the general public to know the agricultural reforms being undertaken for better sustainability and marketability," he pointed out.

Mohammad Jalal Al Reyaysa, Director of Communications and Community Services at ADFCA, said the campaign would convey the strategies and principles of best agricultural practices through the media so the message reaches the maximum number of people. "Creating awareness about the importance of sustainable development is crucial to the success of our efforts," he explained.

�In order to reap the fruits of this campaign, farmers play an integral role in promoting locally-grown produce and raising its competitive edge in line with Abu Dhabi 2030 Vision. ADFCA and FSC are committed to providing all means deemed essential to support the farmers to achieve the goals. We will also encourage the farmers to cultivate crops that are high in demand,� he added.

Both parties aim to achieve such a large-scale move by encouraging farmers to adopt farming methods appropriate to the local environment, promoting the quality of locally-grown produce by introducing risk-analysis procedures and technologies deemed essential to generate income and achieve better quality results, getting a closer look at the challenges faced by the farmers and work to solve them, including improving the quality of seeds, harvest methods and techniques whilst ensuring minimum effects on the environment, as well as improved management practices.