5 stations nationwide

Belhaif Al-Nuaimi: The cost of a single station in "Al Shabab for Food Security" amounts to 7 million dirhams

  • The adoption of modern farming systems enabled some products to cover a large percentage of the local demand.

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  • Minister of Climate Change and Environment: Dr. Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi.

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The Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Dr. Abdullah Belhaif Al-Nuaimi, stated that the cost of equipping one station of the "Youth Food Security Stations" project ranged between five and seven million dirhams, and the project aims to establish five stations at the state level, indicating that the stations will depend on young people from Alternative service members, as a prime option.

On providing the necessary funding for young people to start their own projects in the field of food security, Al Nuaimi told «Emirates Today»: "Through partnership and coordination with the competent authorities, including the Office of the Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium Enterprises, young graduates of the project (Youth Stations for Security) will be linked. food) with the financing agencies in the country to facilitate and facilitate the processes of their obtaining the necessary financing to launch their own projects.

He stated that the stations project launched by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment in cooperation with the National and Reserve Service Authority, finally, aims to achieve eight goals, which are qualifying and developing the knowledge and professional skills of youth in the agricultural sector, empowering youth to entrepreneurship in the agricultural field to achieve food security, and increasing and raising investment efficiency. in the agricultural sector, raising the quality and competitiveness of national products and diversifying them, strengthening supply chains and adding value to national products, achieving self-sufficiency, and supporting and providing diverse job opportunities for youth and entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector.

He explained that the project, through its first phase, targets 50 young nationals who are affiliated with the national service. to entrepreneurship in the agricultural field in an integrated manner, stressing that the goal of the project is mainly theoretical and practical training and qualification for young people, to graduate them as entrepreneurs in the field of modern sustainable farms, and the production rate is linked to the size of the station and the practical activity that it will include.

He attributed the focus on leafy crops and crops such as tomatoes, to the fact that this type of crop is considered the main product of modern farms with high production and high quality. As for crops such as rice and wheat, the first station includes a department for research and experiments to experience the cultivation of many of them, and field visits will be organized for young people. To already established farms for this type of crop.

The ministry is also working on other crops as part of its research projects, and the ministry will continue to support and follow up the initiatives of some farms in cultivating this type of crops.

Al-Nuaimi added: "The ministry is currently working on developing a mechanism to support existing farmers in a different, innovative and sustainable way, in return for the stations project that will provide support to young people for entrepreneurship in the field of agriculture."

Al Nuaimi pointed out that the ministry is implementing an integrated system of efforts aimed at enhancing food security and sustainability and ensuring the continuity and flexibility of food supply and supply chains, noting that the system is based on several axes, namely the expansion of the adoption of import markets, in order to ensure the diversity and continuity of food supply chains, in addition to that The number of approved slaughterhouses that export halal meat from abroad to the country, according to the latest update, is 165 slaughterhouses from 64 countries until the end of March 2021, and coordination is underway with a number of livestock exporting countries with the aim of importing livestock from them to increase the number of markets.

Among the pillars of the food system is strengthening the capabilities of the inspection and quarantine centers attached to all state ports and accelerating the pace of their work to ensure the speed of examination procedures for food consignments coming into the country and their entry into the local market, as well as implementing an integrated system that ensures the safety of food imported from abroad and traded locally by raising the efficiency of health inspection centers and quarries. and laboratories at all state outlets, developing the “Zad” system for registering locally traded food and reporting cases of food in violation of safety standards, tightening control over the use of pesticides, enhancing local agricultural and animal production capabilities by motivating farmers to adopt modern farming systems, and supporting and promoting youth entrepreneurship In the field of modern sustainable agriculture, animal farms and fish farms, marketing the local product, and enhancing its competitiveness in the market by signing memoranda of understanding to market this product with the most important institutions that own retail centers, noting that preparations are being made to launchA huge project to market local agricultural products, in cooperation with some private sector institutions.

Regarding the level that the state has currently reached in terms of achieving food security and self-sufficiency, Al-Nuaimi said: “The state has been able to ensure food security and sustainability by ensuring the continuity and flexibility of supply chains, and this has appeared tangibly during the past year with the spread of the emerging Corona virus pandemic, which affected the The continuity of supply chains in several regions around the world, while expanding the base of the number of import markets and accelerating the examination procedures and procedures for food consignments ensured the sustainability of food availability in the local market at a level that meets the volume of demand and maintains the normal price value of food commodities.”

Self-sufficiency

Dr. Abdullah Belhaif Al-Nuaimi said: "Despite the climatic nature of the country, which does not have the necessary elements to expand the agricultural process, the adoption and adoption of modern farming systems has enabled some local agricultural products to cover large proportions of the volume of local demand, including leafy crops, cucumbers and tomatoes."

• The stations will rely on young people who are members of the alternative service, as a main option.

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