LIWA (Western Region) � The Liwa Agricultural Exhibition,ss which concluded on Saturday opened avenues for new initiatives and agreements that guarantee a quantum leap in agricultural reforms in the Western Region.
Rashed Al Shariqi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, said the successful conclusion of 
the exhibition testified to the agricultural vision of the government of 
Abu Dhabi, which wanted to turn this crucial sector into a social and economic powerhouse.
�We are very glad that the farmers and farm owners of the Western Region welcomed our initiatives and in particular the exhibition. We are grateful to Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of Abu 
Dhabi Food Control Authority and to Shaikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler�s Representative to the Western Region for all their support and cooperation,� he said.
Apart from around 6,000 visitors drawn from the farming community in the region the event also was venue for a number of seminars and presentations dealing with various aspects of agriculture.
Many leading agricultural experts addressed these seminars, giving 
the region�s farmers a better understanding of globally recognised agricultural practices.
The penultimate day of the event saw the signing of two important Agreements for 39,000/600 square metres of green house construction - having the potential to trigger a qualitative change in the agrarian practices in the region.
As part of the first deal, �So Fresh�, a greenhouse manufacturer, will build 110 structures housing plants for a local company �Dharwat Liwa� at a cost of Dh3,470,000. The second deal called �So Fresh� is to build eight green houses for Huraif Al Murar, a local farmer, at a cost of Dh2,900,000.
The produce from the farms will be marketed by the recently opened Farmers� Service Centre, an initiative of Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority.
Al Shariqi said a number of farm owners had expressed their interest in becoming members of the Farmers� Service Centre, which Shaikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan inaugurated on the first day of the exhibition.
�They are willing to adhere to the policies and prescription of the Centre, which will help them improve productivity at their farms and the eventual marketing of their produce,� he added.