A journey that his father began in the 1970s

Yazan Al-Qadmani .. Organic farming is a passion that is not without challenges

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The Emirates Organic Farm was launched in 2016 and is managed by Yazan Al-Qadmani, whose passion for the world of agriculture, especially organic, was taken from his father, Yahya Al-Qadmani, who was a pioneer in the field of agriculture and organic fertilizers since the seventies.

The concept of a farm that is 100% organic revolves around providing specific crops that are found in the Emirates, where more than 60 varieties are grown completely organic, meaning that the seeds are organic, and the soil is also, and the cultivation is free of pesticides.

Challenges

The founding of the farm initially bore many challenges, and Al-Qadamani pointed out that his father had worked in the field of agriculture since the seventies, as he was working on building greenhouses and research. With the establishment of the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, established research centers for agriculture. About what can be offered in the country, Qadamani's father worked in research related to wheat cultivation, and he was transferred to the "Al-Awha" project, and at that time he planted large areas of wheat.

Al-Qadmani pointed out that he continued his father’s march in agriculture, and because of the agricultural renaissance in the UAE, fertilizers used to come from abroad, some of which were untreated, and thus he found many insects and pests that are not present in the country. As there was sufficiency of organic fertilizer, it was exported abroad, and as a result of his success, organic fertilizer was made for the palm, and he won a prize, which made his father and his partners obtain a plot of land, which was converted into a farm.

a study

Al-Qadmani studied financial management, and agriculture was part of his work. Farmers are not agricultural engineers, indicating that he gained experience through work and from the experience of his father, explaining that agriculture is one of the inherited professions.

He emphasized that the beginning was with a farm that is nothing but sand dunes, and therefore its foundation is with sand devoid of useful elements, through the addition of organic fertilizer, which works to build good soil, then the presence of beneficial birds and insects leads to a balance, in traditional agriculture all are removed What is present and one variety is cultivated in a specialized manner, while in organic agriculture it cannot be done to avoid the spread of insects, as the cultivated areas are mixed with various varieties, in order to avoid the spread of insects, because for each tree and plant there are specific pests and special control, and thus the density of the plant in the area It may destroy the yield, which means that the natural cycle of the environment is more effective with organic farming.

Birds and poultry

Regarding the challenges that organic agriculture brings, Al-Qudmani pointed out that they do not replant the same variety in the soil for two consecutive seasons, because the plant takes all its needs from the soil, and there are methods for mixing crops so that the soil is more productive and organically.

He noted that the farm also contains poultry, there are 15 thousand birds, and therefore poultry waste goes back to the soil, and the residues of farms are provided to the birds.

As for the irrigation of organic agriculture, it is not different from the irrigation of traditional agriculture, indicating that the drip irrigation method is adopted, which saves 60% of the water, if compared to the irrigation recognized in other countries, explaining that irrigation is studied according to crops, for example corn is grown horizontally while Pumpkin cultivation is carried out under it, and thus two varieties are taken advantage of in the same area, and this is what cannot be done in traditional agriculture, and the latter is based on specialization and relies on machines, while organic makes people grow varieties in close proximity, and the work is manual. The cost of organic crops.

Awareness and events

Al-Qadmani seeks to provide awareness about what this agriculture is, indicating that they are organizing a group of activities with a guide, where the groups come to the farm to learn the nature of organic farming, and the activities have been worked on as a tourism project, the awareness is very important, and it is not to introduce the concept of organic farming. Rather, it is to live the experience on the farm about how to grow, and sometimes visitors plant or pick the crop, as it is a large, integrated farm and opens its doors to visitors.

marketing

Yazan Al-Qadmani noted that foreigners have awareness about eating organic food.

As for the marketing challenges, he pointed out that organic farming is 10%, and traditional agriculture still reaches 90% of the available in the market, and therefore there are many things that enter the scope of marketing, including, for example, inaccurate information written on products, as there becomes A kind of confusion for people in the information provided to them, so that their ability to differentiate between organic and the traditional product on which some phrases are written diminishes, which prompted Al-Qadmani to say that they are always working to instruct people on how to read the information correctly.

Advice for beginners

Yazan Al-Qadmani advised the beginners of new projects to learn well and be familiar with all aspects of the project before starting it, because the information is present today, and it is available via the Internet, and there is support from many sources in the country, so there must be a goal to be worked on, and it is necessary for one to return the debt. For the community in which it is located.

He pointed out that sustainability in any project requires financial success, but with financial success, it is necessary to pay attention to how giving in society.

Agriculture is an inherited profession, and the beginning was with a farm with nothing but sand dunes.

In organic farming, the varieties are grown in close proximity and the work is done manually, which is why their cost is high.

Organic products account for 10% and traditional agriculture still reaches 90%.

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