every day
We are not just importers and consumers!
Sami Al Riyami
reyami@emaratalyoum.comsamialreyami
August 08, 2021
One of the honorable brothers invited us to his farm in the “Al Jubaib” area, an area located between the cities of Al Ain and Dubai, where he planted many varieties of vegetables, but what really distinguishes them is their superiority in the production of “figs”, which is of the yellow type known locally as “Jassim figs”. By the way, it is very tasty, and its quality is not less than the quality of any figs produced in Lebanon, Armenia, Turkey, or any other country famous for fig cultivation. About importing it completely, and even producing it in large quantities, with superior quality, and at a low cost, and from the middle of the deserts of the Emirates!
He is not the only one who does this, but there are dozens, if not hundreds of farms in Abu Dhabi and the Western Region, and in Al Ain, Ras Al Khaimah, and Fujairah, producing various types of figs in all categories and colors, with high quality, and a delicious taste that competes with the finest international types, and some The farms contain four thousand fig trees, and some are more, and the production is abundant and adequate, as some of them are produced throughout the year thanks to the care, coverage and availability of the basics for the survival of the tree and increasing its yield.
The beautiful thing is that we have Emirati competencies and expertise that have excelled and succeeded in entering this field, and gained great experience in agriculture and the production of “figs” in particular, and vegetables and fruits in general.
We do not lack spaces. Modern technologies and covered greenhouses have ended the argument that we are a desert country that is not suitable for agriculture. Rather, we are cultivating everything, and in good quantities, we do not claim that they are sufficient to cover our food needs, but they will inevitably constitute a large percentage in our reaching the stage of food security that we dream It has been implemented for many years, provided that interest in and protection of the agricultural sector is doubled, farmers are supported in a real and tangible manner, and this sector is organized in a scientific and thoughtful manner, rather than leaving it suffering from randomness and unilateral action, due to the absence of a higher governmental strategic plan, which includes all farmers, and includes all productive farms, It sets the steps and stages of excellence, and the quality of production required, in a way that enhances integration, and opens the way for better marketing, so that everyone benefits instead of competition, or duplication and repetition that ultimately leads to everyone's failure!
I do not have numbers or statistics on the UAE’s production of “figs”, but if this sector is tightly regulated, our local production will cover the entire country, and we will not need to import “figs” from anywhere else, but perhaps we will compete globally in the production of “figs”. High quality and delicious, and if the entire agricultural sector is organized within a clear and deliberate plan, we will undoubtedly secure many food products, and we will walk steadily in the path of raising the level of food security significantly, and this is not impossible, as scientific development is enough to drop all the theories that used to see us as a state Unproductive, and accordingly they put us in the category of importers and consumers only, and I think it is time for us to leave this category!
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