The Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) participated in the 6th International Water Summit (IWS) hosted by Masdar, which runs from 15-18 January 2018, as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), at the National Exhibition Center (ADNEC). Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of UAE Armed Forces, the authority's participation aims to highlight its most prominent projects and models for achieving environmental and water sustainability.

For his side, Eng. Thamer Rashed Al Qasemi, ADFCA's Spokesman, said: "The authority's participation aims to highlight its efforts to devote the agricultural support and development programs to achieve sustainability by adopting appropriate agricultural techniques to optimize the use of natural resources. Its contribution to the summit also comes to showcase its projects aim at overcoming challenges of raising the efficiency of using water resources in the agricultural sector of the emirate, discuss all options to meet those challenges,  and benefit from the challenges to optimize agricultural production, which ensures water and agricultural sustainability."

"During its participation, ADFCA will showcase its irrigation systems. Those systems include the drip irrigation system, which has a high efficiency up to 95%. The system rationalizes the use of water and fertilizers and fits all soils. It also enables farmers to conduct agricultural operations while irrigation. They can irrigate their plants at short intervals. Moreover, it equally supplies all plants with slow and continuous water, reducing water stress in plants. Furthermore, it is the only suitable system for agriculture in greenhouses," Al Qasemi indicated.

Additionally, the authority will present its soilless agriculture and water recirculation system, which is one of the most important methods used in modern agriculture (Farming without soil), in which water can be reused in agricultural and its consumption can be reduced. The system is characterized by several features, such as the possibility of reusing water in a closed system. This can reduce the consumption of water and fertilizers, help to maintain the sustainability of resources and the environment, support productivity in terms of type and quantity, enable the soil to get rid of some problems such as diseases, salinity and weeds.

The authority's irrigation systems also include the collective irrigation station project, which aims to distribute water to farms, which do not have sources of groundwater suitable for irrigation, through collective irrigation stations. Those stations can control the distribution of water, whether desalinated water, wells water or treated water, to farms by pumps or water networks.

The systems include the treated sewage water being subjected to UV disinfection. This treated water is suitable for agriculture and contains elements necessary for the plant, which reduces the use of fertilizers. Its quality is valid for irrigating all crops and unrestricted irrigation purposes as prescribed by WHO and FAO.

ADFCA launched a number of important initiatives in recent years to raise awareness of farmers and consumers about the importance of water, urging them to maintain the sustainability of water resources in the emirate. Those initiatives displayed a variety of ideas, studies, projects and solutions to overcome challenges threatening the future of water in the country.