Abu Dhabi: The winners of the 10th annual Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation were honoured in Abu Dhabi on Monday for their distinguished research in the field of date palms.
The winners received cash rewards of up to Dh1 million for their innovative work.
The award was officially established in 2007 by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and has since then become one of the world’s most notable date palm research initiatives, drawing participants both regionally and internationally, as the award aims to highlight the growing importance of the date palm.
This year’s award was split into four categories including outstanding studies and modern technology, pioneering development and productive projects, pioneering and advanced innovations serving the agricultural sector, and distinguished personality in the field of date palm and agricultural innovation.
The winners for the first two categories are awarded Dh1 million each, with the rest of the category winners getting Dh750,000 each.
Winning in the first category this year was Dr Morel Gross Yaltzard from Montpellier University, France. In the second category, Mohammad Suhail Al Mazroui, from the UAE, was announced as the winner for the pioneering development and productive projects category. For the third category, two winners were selected for their innovations in the agricultural sector, Dr Luigi Murcella from Italy, and Platform Company based in the UAE.
Dr Abdullah Abdullah from Tunisia, was selected as this year’s distinguished personality for his work and research in date palms that have spanned 30 years in several countries including Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Burkina Faso.
“[The Khalifa Date Palm award] has become a remarkable universal field for supporting the distinction in agricultural innovation. It became a vital global instrument for honouring the successful initiators and publishing the important researches and experiences. It creates chances for sharing the fruitful and fresh ideas and getting better acquainted with innovative and useful achievements,” said Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance, who attended the awarding ceremony.
Jose Graziano da Silva, director general, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, also in attendance, spoke on the continued importance of date palms in the Middle East, highlighting how 90 per cent of the world’s date production comes from this region.
“Today, Date Palms are still playing a significant role in the economies of the countries in the Near East and North Africa Region. In fact, the region includes the top 10 date-producing countries, representing 90 per cent of the global date production.
“The consumption of dates has increased in European Markets and in the US, and they are becoming well recognised globally as a nutritious and healthy food. This means opportunities to increase production and exports,” he added.
Distinguished personality
Commenting on being announced as this year’s recipient for the distinguished personality category, Dr Abdullah said he was proud with the honour, and that he planned to continue his work and research in date palms.
“I have been working in the field of date palm research for 30 years. My work has included being the first director for the date palm research centre in south Tunisia, which I served for 10 years. I have also worked in Saudi Arabia for eight years as the chief technical adviser of date palm research, and in Egypt I also helped write the country’s national strategy for date palms.
“The work that I am the most proud of when it comes to date palms has been helping the farmers and supporting them to be able to successfully plant their own date palm trees in their own farms,” he added.
“It’s vital to support farmers and to help them get started especially in the beginning because that’s the first step that leads to production, which is crucial for the industry as a whole and so we need the farmers,” he said.
Speaking on his own passion for date palms, Dr Abdullah said that it all stems from the importance date palm trees have for the region.
“The date palm tree is one of the best trees in the world, it gives a very good fruit with the date, which provides food security as well as supporting local economies.”
Khalifa Date Palm Award winners
Outstanding studies and modern technology category
Dr Morel Gross Yaltzard, Montpellier University, France, Dh1m
Pioneering productive projects category
Mohammad Suhail Al Mazroui, chief executive officer, Liwa Dates Factory for Food Industries, UAE, Dh1m
Pioneering and advanced innovations serving the agricultural sector category
Dr Luigi Murcella, Italy, & Platform Company, UAE, Dh750,000 each
Distinguished personality in the field of date palm and agricultural innovation
Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Tunisia, Dh750,000
