The Ministry of Environment and Water works for an integrated management of ecosystems and natural resources to achieve a green economy for future generations. it is working to develop policies, plans and agricultural initiatives that would enhance the volume and quality of agricultural production in the country,
in order to achieve food security and safety, and to achieve economic benefits for farmers in different regions. The ministry is working on identifying the possibilities and obstacles facing the local agricultural domain and suggesting the best and most appropriate solutions, by contributing to different working levels in this area, as well as to circulate the results of research and studies carried out in this area. Therefore, the agricultural and livestock guidance team at the Ministry of Environment and Water is preparing a developmental plan for the agricultural and livestock guidance program.
Engineer Nora Karam Jalal, the Manager of the Eastern Region at the Ministry and the head of the team, clarified that the agricultural and livestock guidance is an ongoing process for the transfer of appropriate information technically and economically on both sides of agricultural and livestock production, to develop the knowledge of farmers and animal breeders, and to change their attitudes and help them to equip themselves with the skills needed to use these information effectively, to achieve the objectives of the strategy adopted by the federal government in the United Arab Emirates, and that are in line with the objectives of the Ministry of Environment and Water to promote both food and environmental and sustainability of water security, and raising the rate of bio-security.
Ms. Nora Jalal said that the objectives of the development of agricultural and livestock guidance is working on raising the efficiency of agricultural and livestock production, crop and animals selection with high productivity through better technical and economical methods, and marketing of agricultural products through the provision of information about market demand and providing the necessary skills for marketing.
In addition to the conservation of the available natural resources and its development and taking care of the environmental impacts of the production, analyzing farm resources, dealing with agricultural pests and animal diseases and the factors associated with them in order to achieve the aspirations of the targeted farmers, and to contribute to a higher rate of bio-security and to enhance food security.
According to Engineer Nora Jalal, that through the analysis of internal and external environmental factors that are affecting the role of guidance, the team will work by depending on the opportunities available to determine the existing needs and problems, to develop guidance ways, and to establish a closer relationship with the results of applied agriculture research, which ensures the conservation of natural resources and their sustainability. The other tasks of the team will be identifying training program packages, to raise the efficiency of the guiding division in collaboration with a number of Arab and international organizations of such concern, as well as taking advantage of applied research for the guidance work.
The Director of the Eastern Region said that a study on the development of the organizational structure to raise the efficiency of the work of guidance based on the results of relevant benchmarking. Therefore, she called for the concerned public to visit the website of the Ministry at www.moccae.gov.ae to benefit from the electronic agricultural guide program, where it includes a number of extensions for bulletins and brochures in addition to a number of documentaries and videos aimed at publicizing instructions such as: hydroponics, agricultural pest control, cultivation lipids, and organic agriculture.
According to the head of the team, a database will be created for local farmers and animal breeders, creating questionnaires and analyzing their results, training current technical staff, and to identify the gaps between farmers' production and the market demand. In addition to the above mentioned, there will be a manual prepared for agricultural and veterinary guidance, developing means of communication to support and develop agricultural and livestock guidance, benefiting from the available agricultural research findings, and coordinating with the relevant institutions and entities.
Among the most prominent challenges facing the agricultural and livestock guidance are the reluctance of nationals to study agricultural and livestock guidance, the different levels of targeted audience in guidance programs in terms of educational level or language barriers, in addition to climate change and its effects on crop and animal production.