Fishermen and farmers in the Northern Emirates submitted proposals to the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment to develop and support the agriculture and fishing professions, as they are the most important sources of food security in the country.
The fishermen suggested reconsidering the decision to prohibit poetic and pure fishing during the months of March and April annually, and to provide engines with a capacity of 300 horses instead of 150 horses, which do not benefit from anglers with large boats, and to re-establish the ministry’s meetings with fishermen and farmers that have been suspended for two years, and to provide oil support for fishermen and housing For workers and maintenance workshops.
Farmers suggested setting a strategy in specialized agriculture, which would have a significant productive return, so that each farm allocates a specific crop to support local production and meet the needs of consumers, train farmers on the latest agricultural methods to develop the profession, and establish an integrated agricultural city that is concerned with research and studies and depends on the latest agricultural technologies, to be A destination for local farmers.
For his part, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Dr. Eng. Abdullah Belhaif Al-Nuaimi, told «Emirates Today» that the ministry is in the process of setting a date for the meeting with fishermen and farmers, in accordance with the precautionary measures adopted, in order to listen to their proposals and opinions and work to develop the fishing and agricultural professions as one of the most important Sources of food security in the country.
He explained that «the UAE community views the profession of hunting and agriculture as a profession of sustainability and we wish to perpetuate them», adding that «the ministry will work in cooperation with fishermen and farmers to develop the profession of hunting and agriculture», stressing the need for «fishermen and farmers to contribute to the permanence of the profession of parents and grandparents».
In detail, the fishermen, Issa Al Tunaiji, Saeed Rashid and Omar Al-Husseini, stressed the need to review the decision to ban poetic and pure fishing during the months of March and April annually, and to prevent importing fish during or after the embargo at least a month to avoid the fishermen being harmed by the decision.
They explained that «supporting fishermen with engines with a capacity of 300 horses instead of 150 horses contributes to the development of the fishing profession, because small engines do not benefit from the fisherman because his boat is large, which drives many to sell small engines at less than their price in the agency to buy engines that fit the size of the boat».
They pointed out the importance of supporting the fishermen with cranes, which contributes to reducing costs on them and increasing their profits. They also called for the completion of deficiencies in fishing ports.
They stressed the importance of re-meeting the ministry with fishermen in various regions in order to listen to their demands and suggestions, as the ministry stopped meeting with them two years ago, which made it difficult for them to communicate their proposals to the ministry in order to preserve the fishing profession and provide support to the fishermen.
And they called the ministry to provide support in oil to support the fishermen in the winter season and the seasons of the low amount of fishing, because cruises cost them financially, especially if they witnessed a decrease in fishing due to weather factors.
The hunter, Hamid Al Zaabi, stated that some areas suffer from a shortage of warehouses, workshops, and workers ’homes, and that the buggers face a problem that is due to the fact that the net fishermen go fishing with the bark after the end of the net fishing season, calling for organizing the fishing seasons so that the hunter does not encroach upon another hunter season, and that the hunter commit With the fishing license granted to him.
He added that the import of fish from abroad should be prohibited because the fishermen in neighboring countries benefit from the fish that are raised in the state's waters and sell them in our markets, which leads to harming the citizen fisherman and low his financial income.
In the agricultural issue, the farmer Mohamed Al-Naqbi, from the city of Khor Fakkan in the Emirate of Sharjah, pointed out that «the eastern region farms produced during the last period abundant quantities of all kinds of agricultural crops, as the farmers greatly nourished the local markets, and our crops and farms witnessed a great turnout from citizens who They buy vegetables directly from the farms such as tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, carrots, etc., in addition to different types of fruits.
He continued that «achieving self-sufficiency and food security is easy, but it needs to increase the confidence of the responsible authorities in farmers and the organization of their farms, as farmers can produce, from the beginning of October to April of each year, all kinds of vegetables and fruits, and watermelon and some summer crops remain Its production depends on the high temperature, ”he said, adding that farmers can benefit from greenhouses during the summer by growing winter crops, ensuring their availability throughout the year, without the need for import.
He pointed out that the health value of the imported products is unknown and may be very few, due to the lack of knowledge of the quantities of pesticides used and the types of fertilizers.
He mentioned that food security needs to stop foreign agricultural investments and focus on them within the country, as the Corona pandemic has proven that these investments are not feasible during epidemics, wars, and others.
For his part, Rashid Al-Atar, the farmer, proposed setting a clear strategy concerned with integration between farmers, stressing the need to start the strategy with specialized agriculture, which has a large productive return, so that each farm specializes in a specific agreed upon crop, which makes it easier for the farm owner to deal with one crop in relation to a method Agriculture, fertilizers and agricultural pest control. It follows that the farm will be able to produce more quantities and contribute to covering a large proportion of the needs of local markets, rather than accumulating certain varieties in the markets, such as cucumbers and tomatoes, as varieties of vegetables and fruits are distributed to farmers, for example, one farm produces only tomato, and another «mango »All kinds.
He called for providing training courses for farmers to improve the production and quality of their agricultural crops.
He emphasized his optimism that the coming stage will witness a clear strategy and ambitious plans to boost national agricultural production, noting the need to provide farmers with the quantities of water required for agriculture at reasonable prices, and to support agricultural solutions that conserve water and prevent wastage, in addition to supporting innovations in the field of agriculture and water conservation.
The farmer Ahmed Ali Al-Hafiti, the owner of the Dafta nursery, suggested the establishment of an integrated agricultural city for research and studies, and it depends on the latest agricultural technologies, to be a destination for local farmers, and it will have a significant impact on local agricultural production.
Al-Hafiti added that the development of agriculture requires the establishment of dams and water barriers, stressing the need to involve farmers and residents of different regions in identifying suitable places to build dams, water channels and lakes, noting the importance of periodic maintenance of dams to preserve the storage capacity assumed for them, which may be significantly reduced due to the deposition of materials Silt, which reduces the underground water's nutrition.
The food security expert and the owner of a farm, Dr. Khaled Al Shamsi, emphasized that “the government's support for the agricultural sector is widely available for the agriculture and food security sector, and we saw during the last period the decision of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, to open marketing channels The local agricultural product in the shops and markets, in a quick response from His Highness to the demands of the farmers, as the decision gave very satisfactory results, and this is what we heard from farmers who were having difficulty in marketing their products », indicating that the country enjoys self-sufficiency.
He added that the farmer deserves support because he contributes to providing important commodities to the local market, and then the ministry will enhance its support for him, pointing out that the Ministry of Food Security is working on a future strategy and plans for guidance, and there are studies of the available agricultural land areas, and determines the return of each square meter of Crops, in addition to determining the consumption of water and electricity, studies focused on the most important varieties.
A farm owner, Jamal Abdullah, said that «the most important files that should have priority is to amend the agricultural legislation that does not fit the requirements of the current stage, and focus on fees and registration of organic agricultural materials, because their prices exceed the prices of chemicals, in addition to the trend of modern technology in Agriculture to reduce water and energy waste. He called for a system to qualify and train farmers and workers in the agricultural sector in general, especially since agriculture in the Emirates is modern, indicating the need for the ministry to offer high-quality agricultural materials, and to support them more, without looking at their prices in the first place, and organizing periodic meetings with Farmers taking their suggestions and demands into consideration.
Fishermen's proposals
■ Reconsidering the decision to ban poetic and pure fishing during March and April.
Provide 300 horsepower engines instead of 150 hp.
Re-meeting the ministry with fishermen and farmers.
■ Providing petroleum subsidies for fishermen, worker accommodations, and maintenance workshops.
Farmers' proposals
■ Involving farmers in defining dams, canals and lakes.
Create an integrated agricultural city for research and studies.
■ Development of an agricultural strategy.
Training farmers in the latest agricultural methods.
Achieving self-sufficiency and food security needs to enhance confidence in farmers.
• Fishermen in neighboring countries catch fish that are raised in our waters and sell them in our markets.