An integrated and innovative strategy to develop palm cultivation and date production in Abu Dhabi

September 15
The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority is implementing an integrated strategy to develop palm cultivation and date production in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. It aims to enhance food security and maintain biosecurity on the emirate’s farms. This is done through the application of several programs concerned with the palm tree, including the Integrated Palm Management Program and good practices for post-harvest dates operations, in addition to the Integrated Palm Pest Management Program, to control pests that affect palm trees in environmentally safe ways while reducing the economic damage of the pest, and maintaining the system. The environment from the indiscriminate use of agricultural pesticides.
At the beginning of this year, the Authority conducted a large survey of palm farms that included about 22,581 farms, to examine their palm trees and verify whether they were infected with pests. The examination included about 6,750,699 palm trees, about half of which were in the Al Ain region. The total number of palm trees included in the survey reached about 3,857,666 palm trees in 11,810 farms, representing 52 percent of the total farms included in the survey, compared to 2,353,855 palm trees in 7,513 farms in the Al Dhafra region, representing 33 percent of the total farms, while 538,148 palm trees were surveyed in 3,258 farms, representing 15 percent of the total farms surveyed across the emirate. Surveying palm farms is a basic and important step to begin implementing the services of the integrated palm pest management program. After that, spraying and pest control operations are carried out according to the survey results.
On the occasion of Arab Palm Day, which falls on September 15 of each year, the Authority confirmed that palm cultivation and date production in the country has developed significantly and rapidly over the past years, and the Authority is working hard to develop and advance this sector and enhance its sustainability through the programs and services it provides to farmers. Encouraging them to follow good date production practices; With the aim of improving the quality of the dates produced, in addition to monitoring the farms producing dates, reducing the use of agricultural pesticides, and obtaining clean dates free of pesticide residues, it also encourages farmers to shift towards organic palm farming, and cultivate commercial varieties with high productivity and good economic returns for the development and sustainability of this sector. Strategic and dynamic.
The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority works to motivate farmers in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to care for palm trees and produce dates, in line with the vision of the Abu Dhabi government and the role it plays in achieving sustainable agricultural development. The application of good agricultural practices and post-harvest practices play a major role in determining the marketing value of farm dates, provided that the fruits are preserved from exposure to sunlight for a long period and protected from dust contamination before sorting.

The integrated palm pest management program implemented by the Authority in the farms of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi has achieved great achievements in controlling pests and insects that infect palm trees, through the implementation of an intensive hunting program for the red palm weevil and borers using pheromone and light traps.
Traps are one of the effective methods in the integrated pest management system, and are widely used on the farms of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. To control pests and reduce damage to palm trees in an environmentally safe manner, and compatible with integrated pest management systems, thus reducing the use of pesticides. There are currently about 21,160 light traps and 124,958 pheromone traps on Abu Dhabi farms, and the numbers of insects caught in them are constantly counted and disposed of using safe methods.
The Authority’s agricultural extension workers, through field guidance visits, educate farm owners and workers about the proper use of traps, how to operate and maintain them, and how to care for them, to ensure the continuity of their operation. In order to maintain their safety and prevent insect infections and their spread among farms, the Authority also provides bulletins and guides on good agricultural practices, palm service, and variety selection, and provides awareness messages via social media platforms. With the aim of building farmers’ capacities and educating them on sound practices in serving and caring for palm trees.
The Authority is also keen to participate regularly in date palm exhibitions and festivals, most notably the Liwa Dates Festival and Auction. This is to support heritage activities that help develop palm cultivation, and provide technical support for the festival by participating in the Al-Muzayna Evaluation Committee and educating farmers about the best practices used in managing palm services, in addition to educating the community about the services provided by the Authority to farmers and livestock breeders.