Hatta Farming Festival 2026: 7 rare finds you can buy from Emirati farmers at the local market

Dubai: Hatta may be best known as Dubai’s go-to nature escape, with its hiking trails, leafy parks and Hajar Mountain views but beyond the scenery, it is also home to a thriving community of small-scale farms and local producers.

That is the focus of the Hatta Farming Festival, launched by Dubai Municipality and now in its third edition, which shines a spotlight on Emirati farmers and homegrown businesses bringing fresh, seasonal produce to the region. Many of these sellers usually operate online through Instagram or WhatsApp, making the festival a rare chance to meet them in person and see their harvests up close.

With free entry and a scenic setting at Hatta Leem Lake, the event offers more than just a weekend outing. It is an opportunity to support local UAE agriculture and discover unique fruits, vegetables and handmade products you are unlikely to find on supermarket shelves.

From ‘goat ghee’ to traditional Emirati pickles and fresh raw milk, the Hatta Farming Festival is filled with local flavours that are difficult to find in your neighbourhood grocery store.

One of the standout stalls at the festival is Hatta Farms, a sustainable local farm that uses hydroponic methods for part of its produce. It is particularly known for its fresh tomatoes, with a cup of cherry tomatoes priced at Dh5 and one kilo of tomatoes costing around Dh4.

Alongside this, visitors can find capsicum for Dh8 per kilo, kale for Dh4 per 100g, and a selection of aromatic herbs such as rosemary, basil and parsley, all harvested locally.

Hatta is famous across the UAE for its strawberries, and the festival is one of the best places to try them fresh.

The Hatta Strawberry Farm, located near Hatta Dam, relies on hydroponic farming techniques and reuses wastewater to cultivate strawberries throughout the year. Prices usually range from Dh15 to Dh30 depending on size.

Beyond strawberries, festival visitors can also spot locally grown mangoes, baby bananas and papayas.

No visit to Hatta feels complete without picking up a jar of locally produced honey. Made by Emirati beekeepers using native bees. You can find varieties such as sidr, ghaf, samar, mangrove and wildflower. It is one of the most authentic edible souvenirs you can take home.

Hatta is also well known for its traditional goat dairy products. One of the farms featured at the festival, Alban Maez Jebel Hatta, specialises in a rich range of goat-based goods, including labneh, cheese, ghee, butter and even goat tallow oil. These are handcrafted products that are rarely found in mainstream shops.

Visitors can also find fresh, preservative-free organic milk sourced directly from dairy farms in Hatta. Hatta Cow Farm is among the producers offering raw organic milk, as well as deliveries, and they also specialise in butter, cheese and other dairy essentials made locally.

Another speciality in Hatta is traditional pickling, often made using local mangoes and lemons. Two small businesses at the festival, Le Mango and Al Dhabi Farm, offer a wide variety of bold, tangy flavours, from lemon and mango pickles to mango and peanut combinations, preserved olives, onion pickles and other Emirati pickle varieties passed down through generations.

And of course, no farming festival in the UAE would be complete without dates. At the Hatta Farming Festival, visitors will find numerous varieties that are handpicked from date palm trees across the emirate, then prepared and packaged locally, celebrating one of the most iconic staples of Emirati culture.

Now in its third edition, the Hatta Farming Festival is expanding beyond produce stalls. For the first time, it includes broader participation from government entities and the private sector, with a focus on supporting and empowering People of Determination through product showcases, workshops and activities.