Abu Dhabi: The quality of produce from Abu Dhabi farms has improved with sustainable practices, including controlled use of pesticides thanks to an international certification.

The produce in the market can also be traced to its origin (farm) under this certified system.

Abu Dhabi is planning to get all its farms certified by GLOBAL G.A.P (Goof Agricultural Practices], an international private sector body that sets voluntary standards for the certification of the agricultural production process, a senior official said here on Monday.

“This is part of Abu Dhabi 2030 vision,” Amer Al Katheri, Farm Assurance and GAP Officer at Abu Dhabi Farmers Service Centre (ADFSC), said at the first day of the Global GAP Summit in Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi emirate has around 25,000 farms and more than a 1,000 of them have made an agreement with ADFSC, a government organisation looking after the agriculture sector, for marketing their produce.

The GAP certification of farms is in its initial stage and around 110 farms have already been registered. “We are planning to register all farms [more than 1,000] that have an agreement with us very soon [and the rest of them will join gradually],” Al Katheri said.

The late Shaikh Zayed, the founding father of the UAE, had said: “Give me agriculture, I will give you civilisation.” This shows the importance the UAE has given to agriculture, the official said.

He said the GAP certification and resultant sustainable practices have helped change certain negative perceptions of local produce in the UAE. Some people had an impression that the UAE farms use a high amount of pesticide and the groundwater used in farming is contaminated, etc. But GAP restricts the use of pesticides and promotes sustainable practices, Al Katheri said.

Many workshops have been conducted for farm workers to train them in health and safety. They have been given safety equipment. The officials make weekly visits to farms to ensure the compliance with new procedures, he said.

Workers are trained to handle pesticides safely and in a controlled manner. Empty pesticide containers are disposed of safely to ensure that they are never reused.

The training programmes focus on farm hygiene and personal hygiene, the official said.

The three-day summit brings together experts in the field of food and agriculture from more than 50 countries.

Rashid Bin Fahd, Minister of Environment and Water, will formally inaugurate the summit on Tuesday morning at Hotel Jumeirah at Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi.

Held under the patronage of Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of ADFCA, the summit will host a special session to honour 100 farmers from Abu Dhabi who secured certificates from Global G. A. P with technical support and training from ADFSC.

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