In the presence of H.E. Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water, the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water, recently entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) at the Raffles Hotel in Dubai. The agreement was signed by H.E Abdel Rahim Mohammed Al Hammadi, Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Environment & Water; Mehdi Al Idrissi, the FAO Representative in the UAE and Sub-regional Coordinator for the GCC and Yemen; Asmahan Alwafi, General Manager of ICBA; and Aziz Awlad Bilqasim, Regional Coordinator for ICARDA.
H.E. Dr. Bin Fahad said that the signing of the MoU will promote the Ministry’s strategic partnership with the FAO, the ICBA, and ICARDA in providing an appropriate infrastructure to advance protected cropping production. It will also help in designing and implementing programs and projects at the Ministry’s Agricultural Innovation Center to promote hydroponic systems. In addition, it will aid in organizing field days where farmers, private sector companies, and investors can review innovative solutions provided by the center.
The MoU seeks to achieve its objectives through supporting the protected agriculture research in the Agricultural Innovation Center, in order to achieve excellence and strengthen cooperation with institutions at the national, regional and international levels. Furthermore, it seeks to make advances in its research and development projects related to innovations in modern agricultural techniques and follow the best agricultural practices in protected agriculture. The agreement will provide the necessary training, up-to-date facilities and essential guidance as well as arranging field visits. The move also includes comprehensive capacity development for farmers, advisors, researchers, agronomists, concerned and other related regional parties in protected agriculture.
The memorandum includes the establishment of a joint framework based on a clear promotion of mutual cooperation, the exchange of experiences and information of mutual interests to the parties, and strengthened relations to achieve successful cooperation.
The signatories agreed to hold regular meetings to discuss technical and operational issues to monitor the progress in achieving the objectives of the memorandum. They also approved the hosting of seminars, joint training programs, and workshops to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and exchange of experiences to build the capacity of workers in the field of protected cropping production. Lastly, they affirmed that the exchange of information and technical reports between all parties will help in achieving the agreement’s objectives.