ABU DHABI: The Organising Committee of the Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Agricultural Excellence Award has called on owners of outstanding plant, animal and commercial farms in the UAE to register and nominate for the Award at the earliest.
The Committee noted that there are only a few days left before the deadline for registration and receipt of applications to participate in the main categories of the Award, in accordance with the timetable previously extended until Friday 15th December 2023 to accommodate the large number of applicants for nomination for the Award.
The Organising Committee is accepting applications and entries for the second edition of the Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Agricultural Excellence Award for all main categories through the website www.smaea.ae until next Friday, while registration is still open for the competitions that accompany the Award, which include various contests for the best dates produce, the best breeds, the milk competition, the weights’ competition, a weekly livestock aucti
on, in addition to live cooking competitions for productive families.
As soon as the registration period for the main categories of the Award closes, specialised committees will begin the technical and field evaluation phase. Qualified farms will be visited to be evaluated according to the criteria and conditions of the Award, which were devised by a specialised technical committee of experts and technicians in agriculture, both plant and animal, in addition to agricultural innovation.
The finalists will be announced after the preliminary evaluation results are approved, and the Award ceremony to honour the winners will take place on 5th March 2024 with the presence of all participants.
With prizes totalling more than AED 10 million, the Award’s second cycle encompasses various categories, including participants in the main Award categories, competitors in several activities associated with the Sheikh Zayed Festival in Al Wathba, and participants in various festivals organised within the Award.
The Award
has been divided into four main categories including the first category featuring eight sub-categories for distinguished farmers and breeders. Four awards will be given to crop production-related sub-categories, including the Best Farm in Open Field Cultivation, the Best Farm in Greenhouse Cultivation, the Best Farm in Fruit Production, and the Best Organic Farm. The other four awards will be given to animal production-related sub-categories, including Productive Farm, Small-Scale Producers, Beekeepers, and Aquatic Farms.
The second category is dedicated to agricultural innovation and includes two awards, the first for plant production and the other for animal production. The third category is dedicated to commercial farms and includes two awards, one for commercial plant farms and the other for commercial animal farms. In this Edition also, a new category was introduced to recognise exceptional women in agriculture. This fourth category is dedicated to honouring the best distinguished woman farmer and breed
er, with two awards: one for the best distinguished farmer and the other for the best distinguished breeder. The aim is to support and recognise women’s significant role and efforts in agriculture, contributing to enhancing the food security system.
This year, the Award includes 9 different festivals and 21 competitions associated with the Award divided into 62 sub-competitions, which include the best product of dates, best manufacturing products from palm, best fruit basket of the house, the best fig basket, and the best Sidr fruits competitions. Additionally, there will be a live cooking competition, a contest for the best animal and marine food processing, a competition for the best dairy product, livestock competitions, and an awareness and promotional competition.
The Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Agricultural Excellence Award is a ground-breaking initiative to stimulate agricultural innovation and encourages outstanding farmers and livestock breeders in the UAE, support food security and consolidate the co
ncepts of agricultural sustainability. It also supports the application of global best practices to improve the agricultural sector and ensure the sustainability of resources.
Source: Emirates News Agency