This came during a Cabinet meeting in the Al Marmoom area in Dubai.
And he said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum“Today we are launching a national program to revitalize and stimulate the agricultural sector in the UAE, within an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers at Al Marmoom Farms. The national program “Plant the Emirates” aims to continue the legacy of Zayed, may God have mercy on him, and his will to plant, green, and populate the land of the Emirates through agriculture. The national program aims to spread the culture of agriculture. In every school and home, and in our new generations.”
He added: “The “Plant the Emirates” program aims to raise our food security, develop our agricultural technologies, build new partnerships with the private sector, and spread the green patch in our country to ensure its sustainability. Within this program, the Council of Ministers approved the establishment of the National Agricultural Center, which will be a major driver for this sector during the period.” In the future, by supporting the sector technically and technically, building partnerships, establishing initiatives and institutions, and supporting products.”
The national program “Plant the Emirates” comes as a support for the trends UAE For agricultural development and achieving sustainable national food security, it aims to encourage the local community to self-produce the most important agricultural products at home, expand the green area in the country, support environmental conservation efforts, and establish a positive mental image of the local product with high nutritional value. The program also supports the “Year of Sustainability 2024.” “, and enhances the environmental sustainability system through the effective contribution of local products to reducing the carbon footprint as fresh products.
All federal and local government agencies, local municipal teams, private sector institutions, and community members participate in the national program. The program includes implementing campaigns, events, national exhibitions, and seasonal markets to display and market crops and agricultural products under a unified identity.
The “National Agricultural Center” is considered one of the initiatives of the National Program.Plant the Emirates“Within its establishment decision, the center is specialized in preparing and implementing the initiatives and programs necessary to develop local agricultural production and enhance its quality and competitiveness in a way that supports the achievement of national strategies and targets for food security and sustainable agricultural development, and to provide grants and financing programs to support innovative projects in the field of agriculture, including projects to enhance productivity and quality, improve the supply chain, and reduce Agricultural production costs, reducing losses in agricultural products, improving local agricultural product marketing processes, and other value-added projects for the state.
The most important goals of the National Agricultural Center over the next five years (2025-2030) are to increase productive farms by 20 percent, increase organic farms in the country by 25 percent, raise the percentage of farms that adopt climate-smart solutions to 30 percent, and reduce waste in production. agricultural sector by 50 percent, increasing workers in the agricultural sector by 15 percent, in addition to increasing the use of local product in the restaurant and hotel sector in the country by 25 percent, and 85 percent of local farms obtaining the quality classification seal.
The center’s most prominent specializations also include developing and implementing the necessary initiatives to support the adoption of innovation, technology, technical solutions and modern methods in agriculture, in addition to developing and implementing initiatives to encourage organic agriculture and support organic farms in the country, develop them and raise their productivity, develop and implement empowerment, qualification and specialized training programs for farmers, and provide agricultural extension services. And technical advisory services to support farmers in implementing and developing their projects and marketing their products and other agricultural fields in coordination with the relevant authorities in the country.
The center will also organize national and international events, forums and campaigns to support and market local agricultural products and exchange best practices in the field of sustainable agricultural development, support research projects and applied studies aimed at raising the efficiency, productivity and quality of agricultural production in the country, and conclude strategic partnerships with government and private agencies in the industrial and food sectors. Restaurants, hotels and others to encourage the consumption of local agricultural products and enhance their competitiveness compared to imported products, develop and implement investment programs with sustainable returns that contribute to enhancing local agricultural production, create and organize a comprehensive base of information and data related to the center’s specializations at the state level in coordination with the concerned authorities, and establish partnerships to conduct studies and research. Specialization in fields related to the center’s specializations, in coordination with educational institutions, research centers, and local organizations.
Updates on the UAE Circular Economy Agenda 2031
In the same context, the Council of Ministers reviewed developments in the implementation of the UAE Circular Economy Agenda 2031, and the most important results achieved included organizing the transfer of waste between the emirates to provide a better trade case for investments in infrastructure, supporting local investments in infrastructure through trade control measures, and applying legislation to trade. Scrap plastic and raw materials, developing transparent management plans and accounting mechanisms to prevent leakage of plastic and other recyclable materials or improperly managed waste disposal mechanisms, managing agricultural and natural resources to support the local supply chain, using recycled content in the consumer goods sector, developing Technical regulation regulating the use of food waste (oil) as fuel for vehicles in the field of technical regulation of biodiesel in the country The UAE.
The results also included developing a policy framework for the infrastructure of electric vehicles in the country, launching the roadmap report for converting fuel into energy, unifying the green charging system and two-way charging, and developing their specifications, while the field of waste oil management witnessed the development of an empowerment policy and the development of infrastructure for waste collection sites and material management. Raw.
Ratifying the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with Mauritius
Within the comprehensive strategic economic partnerships program, the Cabinet agreed to ratify an agreement between the government of the UAE and the government of the Republic of Mauritius regarding the comprehensive economic partnership, which aims to strengthen the long-term economic partnership between the two countries, increase trade flows, provide opportunities for strategic investments, and stimulate economic diversification in the two countries.
This is done by removing or reducing customs duties on 97 percent of goods and products, eliminating unnecessary barriers to trade, improving access to services exports, in addition to focusing on stimulating the private sector from both countries to benefit from this agreement, reducing barriers to Emirati exports and protecting Emirati interests. Abroad, ensuring fair and transparent trade rules, enhancing customs cooperation between the two parties, and enhancing the efficiency of customs procedures that affect the movement of trade across borders as well, through implementing the main principles of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade Facilitation.
