Abu Dhabi hotels urged to use local veggies

ABU DHABI Next time you dine in a restaurant in Abu Dhabi, you could be relishing the freshest of vegetables and poultry straight from the local farms.

The Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) has tied up with the Abu Dhabi Farmers’ Services Center (ADFSC) in a campaign to encourage the hospitality sector to use local produce in its food and beverage (F&B) offerings.

More than 14 hotels have been briefed on the wide range of local produce available under ADFSC’s ‘Local Harvest’ brand. ADFSC’s Local Harvest brand represents 42 product lines ranging from fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry, honey and dates.

Support for farmers

ADFSC provides technical and operational support services to hundreds of Abu Dhabi farmers to help them grow and market their produce.

“TCA organised the meeting to ensure that local hospitality professionals are aware of the range, and quality of the produce that ADFSC can supply,” explained Mansoor Mohammad Al Ali, Special Contracts Unit Head, ADFSC. “By bringing supplier and buyer together, we can help the emirate’s F&B sector deliver the freshest of products – from farm to table – to their guests and heighten the tourism industry’s quality delivery.”

“There is a misconception that all that is produced here is some dairy, dates, cucumbers and tomatoes – when in fact there’s so much more than this,” said Ali.

Many hotels have already placed trial orders with the local farmers, and authorities said that is an encouraging trend.