The UAE Ministry of Environment and Water continues its efforts to enhance the integrated management for sustainability of water resources, improving food safety and sustainability of local income through its ‘Our Production’ initiative. The initiative was launched earlier this year to support high-tech agricultural practices, to improve agricultural productivity, and enhance economic income of farmers.

H.E. Eng. Saif Al Shara, Engineer H.E. Saif al-Shara, Assistant Undersecretary for Agricultural and Livestock Affairs, UAE Ministry of Environment and Water, said: “Our Production initiative aligns with our commitment to achieve our strategic goals, including enhancing integrated management for sustainability of water resources, support food safety and sustainability of local income". H.E Al Shara assured that the ministry's efforts aim to integrate the use of modern techniques in the agricultural system and boost the farmers' capabilities to deal with these techniques, which will reinforce the balance between water and food security.

H.E Al Shara, said: “Our Production initiative aligns with our commitment to achieve our strategic goals, including enhancing integrated management for sustainability of water resources, support food safety, and sustainability of local income.” He assured that the Ministry's efforts aim to integrate the use of modern techniques in the agricultural system and boost farmers’ capabilities to deal with these techniques, which will reinforce the balance between water and food security.”

“The initiative is implemented through a team of Ministry’s agricultural engineers and advisors, who are well-versed in the execution of this initiative as well as in enhancing scientific and practical capabilities for hydroponics. We have implemented a two-week training program which included theoretical lectures on several relevant topics and a practical on methods of controlling refrigerated farming halls, management of different patterns of hydroponic farming halls, methods of mixing fertilizers, reducing the use of pesticides through modern agricultural practices, and focusing on botanic protection topics,” added H.E. Al Shara.

“Our Production team has completed 83 field trips within the first month of the initiative, to solely assess the current conditions of every hall, and take salinity, Electric Charging (EC), and pH readings of all the farms. The visits concluded the existence of some pests in addition to mistakes in managing hydroponic farming halls in a number of farms, which reduced the financial income from farming. The training guided farmers and workers on procedures to correct the mistakes in their farms,” concluded H.E. Al Shara.

H.E. Al Shara assured the significance of agricultural guidance in transmitting latest technology, training labor on optimal use of technology, and avoiding wrong agricultural practices. He noted that a guiding program for the initiative's team has been conducted, in order for the team to regularly visit hydroponic farms throughout the farming season, and change wrong concepts in managing hydroponic farming halls, in order to obtain the best income from farming without harming the environment or food.

The UAE Ministry of Environment and Water has adopted hydroponic farming technique in 2009, due to the advantages it provides, in collaboration with specialized scientific centers, including the Global Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas. Advantages of hydroponic farming include high efficiency in controlling water consumption used in irrigating crops, high productivity and lower use of chemical pesticides. Hydroponic farming houses has reached more 1000 houses by end of 2013.