In line with the "Year of Giving" initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) has launched a series of initiatives in cooperation with the private sector. The Ministry is overseeing the spraying of 26,000 palm trees affected by the dust spider with an organic pesticide in the northern, central and eastern regions of the country and the provision of 1000 liters of the organic pesticide in cooperation with Swaidan Trading Company.
His Excellency Sultan bin Alwan Al Habsi, Assistant Under Secretary for Regions at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, said that the initiative is part of the Ministry's efforts to preserve local palm trees and ensure that their fruits are consumed in a healthy and safe manner and in line with MOCCAE’s “Nakheelna” initiative launched across agricultural areas in the northern, central and eastern regions.
Al Habsi explained that through applying the principles of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), the “Nakheelna” initiative is mainly aimed at reducing palm trees infection rate to 1.5% by the end of 2017 with a complete array of processes and measures to control pests, including spraying palm trees with pesticides, installing and maintaining photovoltaic traps, treating infected trees, intensifying efforts to educate and train farmers and build their capacities in palm tree farming, based on innovative solutions and the latest systems and techniques in this field.
As part of its efforts to support farmers and develop local agriculture, Al Habsi stated that the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment provides farmers with agricultural needs and requirements at half price, such as fertilizers, pesticides and seeds, as well as organic farming supplies, such as irrigation pipes, pumps and soil testing equipment, in addition to the Mawroothna card, which was launched by the ministry to grant farmers and fishermen benefits, discounts and other privileges. These efforts have resulted in an increase in aquatic agriculture by 37.5% over the past three years.
Eng. Hassan Ali Shaaban, General Manager of Swaidan Trading Company, said that the dust spider has economic effects on date palms in the early stages, where the infection starts from the beginning of May and lasts until the end of June. He indicated that the company has worked with the Ministry of Climate Change and the Environment on this initiative and on providing 1000 liters of organic insecticide, noting that the insecticide used do not have a harmful effect on people’s health or on the environment and crops can be consumed after an hour or two of spraying the insecticide.
The organic insecticide is a natural compound of vegetable oils, and it has a high capacity to retain moisture, which prolongs its effect period on surfaces. Shaaban stated that in order to appreciate the efficiency of the concentrated pesticide, the percentage of extermination or death of the live dust spider is 99.83%. The pesticide is used to control mites, sooty mold, scale, whitefly and mealy bugs on fruits, nuts, evergreens and woody shrubs.