Abu Dhabi .. The value of agricultural production will rise to 13.7 billion dirhams in 2020

 Agricultural production in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi achieved remarkable growth in terms of volume and value, with a compound annual growth rate of 6.5 percent for the period 2017-2020. The total value of agricultural production, both plant and animal, amounted to about 13.7 billion dirhams in 2020, an increase of 12 percent over 2019.

Thus, the contribution of the agricultural sector to the emirate’s GDP increased to 1.1 percent in 2020, compared to 0.8 percent during previous years, which is in line with the goals and aspirations of the Abu Dhabi government to achieve an integrated and flexible system for food security by supporting and developing agricultural production in both its animal and vegetable parts.

The agricultural sector, with its two parts, plant and animal, is one of the main sectors within the GDP components of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and its contribution to the GDP is calculated after calculating the value of all economic activities and sectors of the Emirate.

This remarkable increase in the volume of agricultural production, both plant and animal, is the result of the plans and policies developed and implemented by the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority to achieve the goals and priorities of the government. Verticality with the ability to produce 5 to 10 times the production in conventional agriculture, the application of irrigation techniques to improve water consumption efficiency in addition to the use of algorithms to determine the potential risks of the spread of epidemics and animal diseases.

It also works to motivate farmers to benefit from the results and outputs of agricultural research appropriate to the environment and climate of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, where basic crops are tested and introduced that have the ability to enhance food security while making optimal use of natural resources.

The authority is also working to enhance the competitiveness of local agricultural products in the market, and to this end, it launched the "Abu Dhabi Gap" program, which is the local version of the global program for good agricultural practices "Global Gap", which applies agricultural production quality standards to ensure food safety, sustainable management of the environment and the health of workers. on its production.

The authority has also encouraged farm owners to switch to organic farming, and has worked to rehabilitate a number of farms and convert them from traditional to organic farming and to obtain organic farming licenses.

The statistical data collected by the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, in cooperation with the Statistics Center in Abu Dhabi, indicates that the volume of local agricultural production, both plant and animal, amounted to 70,774 tons during the year 2020, where the plant production accounted for 59.6 percent of the total agricultural production, And it amounted to about 421,524 tons, an increase of 33 percent over the volume of production in 2017, compared to an increase of 27 percent in livestock production over the same period, which in turn accounted for about 40.4 percent of the total agricultural production of about 286,250 tons.

The quantities of animal and vegetable production were distributed according to the type of product. With regard to animal production, the volume of cow’s milk production in commercial animal production farms amounted to about 168,273 tons, or 58 percent of the total animal production, while poultry meat production amounted to about 50,718 tons, or 18 percent. percent of animal production, followed by table eggs, which accounted for 15 percent of total animal production, reaching 42,916 tons, then red meat with 9 percent, and the volume of production reached 25,662 tons.

As for the vegetable sector, the production of dates acquired the largest proportion of it, reaching about 258335 tons, representing 61 percent of the total plant production, compared to 39 percent for the production of vegetables and fruits, with a total production of 163,189 tons.

The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority expects this year to increase the volume of agricultural production, both animal and vegetable, without feed, to about 741,886 tons, an increase of 33 percent compared to the production achieved in 2017, and an increase of 5 percent compared to the production of 2020.

Statistical estimates conducted by the authority through a survey of commercial farms and farms of small producers in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi indicate that animal production will achieve a qualitative leap with an increase of 62 percent compared to animal production in 2017, and an increase of 12 percent compared to production in 2020, while plant production is expected to grow of vegetables and fruits by 16.5 percent compared to the 2017 production.

The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority affirmed its keenness on the sustainability of the agricultural sector and achieving the vision of the Abu Dhabi government and the aspirations of the owners of farms and farms by helping them develop and increase local production, enhance its competitiveness in the market, and increase the rate of self-sufficiency in local products.

The authority explained that it is keen to adopt some initiatives that would create opportunities and various marketing channels for local products to help small producers market their products and confirm the position of Abu Dhabi farms products in the market, in coordination with its strategic partners from the public and private sectors. The authority also provides a variety of services to build farmers' capacities. and livestock breeders, and encourage them to adopt best practices to improve production processes and improve its efficiency.

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