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Maryam bint Mohammed Al Muhairi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, witnessed the signing of the first deal secured by the “Initiative to Promote Sustainability of National Farms” working group, which was recently formed by the Ministry, according to which food and agricultural products from national farms worth 500 million dirhams will be supplied over five years to a group One of the largest public sector organizations in the United Arab Emirates.
This came during an event held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, where a statement of intent was signed to facilitate the new deal between “Abu Dhabi National Hotels Group Compass Middle East” – the joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Hotels Company and Compass Group, which in turn represents the largest catering company in the world. The UAE and the “Manpet” market, a trading platform established by Arada Development Company to promote mutual cooperation between farmers, the corporate community and local consumers.
Maryam Al Muhairi praised the efforts of the National Farms Sustainability Initiative team in completing this important deal and signing a statement of intent that contributes to finding new mechanisms and partnerships and linking major supply companies to national farms, through cooperation with various relevant authorities from the government and the private sector in the country, which is This contributes to increasing purchases of national farm products, as well as expanding local production through signing purchase agreements, thus raising the state’s self-sufficiency rate for selected food items, and improving the income of UAE farms without affecting food trade.
She emphasized that the Ministry is intensifying its efforts to achieve the goals of the “Enhance the Sustainability of National Farms” initiative in order to enhance food security and its sustainability by enabling and supporting national farms to enter the food procurement market in cooperation with many government and private agencies in the UAE, noting that the initiative’s goal is to increase food security. Procurement rates of major entities participating in the initiative to reach 50% of their total purchases of food products from local sources by the end of 2023, and 70% of them by the end of 2025, reaching 100% by 2030.
Maryam Al Muhairi said: “During the year of sustainability and the UAE’s approaching hosting of the COP28 conference, the work team’s efforts represent a pioneering model for enhancing food security by empowering the national food production sector to ensure food sustainability, whose development is one of the biggest sustainability goals locally and globally by working to develop Sustainable local production enabled by technology for the entire value chain, and the dedication of smart technologies in food production.
For his part, Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal, Vice Chairman of Arada, said: “This agreement between Souk Manpet and Abu Dhabi National Hotels Group Compass Middle East represents an important step on the road towards achieving future food security for a group of major public sector institutions in the UAE.” ».
He added, “We are pleased to see the success of the pioneering work team of the National Farm Sustainability Initiative in achieving such an important deal at such a record speed, and we look forward to announcing more similar partnerships in the near future.”
For his part, Peter Nichols, Chief Operating Officer of ADNH Group Compass Middle East, said: “This fruitful partnership confirms the group’s commitment to developing and developing a sustainable and environmentally friendly system between farmers and the public sector in the UAE in the long term .. We are confident that this agreement It will be the first of many subsequent agreements that will stimulate transformation that will protect our environment and contribute to advancing prosperity and sustainability in the UAE.
Eight key government sector organizations have signed an agreement to achieve this goal, including the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Finance, Dubai Police General Command, Abu Dhabi Police General Command, Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, Emirates Health Services Corporation, and a petroleum company. Abu Dhabi National «ADNOC».
The deal, which was agreed to be around AED 500 million, extends over five years, based on current procurement volumes of fresh produce for the eight signatory entities, as well as estimates of increased demand as a result of the efforts of Abu Dhabi National Hotels Company, Compass Middle East and Souk Manbet. To increase sales of fresh produce to local farmers.
The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment is working to ensure that all concerned parties within the initiative start implementing the plan specified for this agreement, and communication is made with farmers as they are the main driver of this agreement to determine the types and quantities of items required, as all farmers wishing to participate must first register with the Ministry and make sure Their ability to comply with the necessary guidelines and instructions.
The Manbet Market and ADNH Group Compass Middle East will then register the growers in both parties’ registries and submit applications in compliance with the deadlines set by each of the signatories.
It should be noted that the team working on the National Farms Sustainability Initiative includes a group of external experts headed by Eng. Mohammed Mousa Al Amiri, Assistant Undersecretary for the Food Diversity Sector at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment.
The list includes Peter Nichols, Chief Operating Officer, Abu Dhabi National Hotels Group, Compass Middle East; Dr. Ray Tinston, Director of Anembit; Omar Al Shamsi, CEO of the “Watermelon Holdings Limited” platform; Hamid Al-Hamed of Gracia Group; Yazan Al-Kadmani, Partner at 3Way EGTech and Deputy General Manager at Emirates Bio Farm; and Hussein Al-Hussein, Regional Director of Farm to Plate.
