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The UAE is firmly committed to research and studies that will contribute towards agricultural innovation, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, said today at the official launch of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation in Abu Dhabi.
The 2016 edition of the award saw a change in the initiative from previous years, with higher emphasis on innovation as well as a significant increase in the prize money, which has gone up from AED300,000 to AED1 million.
Jose Graziano, Director-General of the United Nations Agriculture and Food Organisation (FAO), senior officials and diplomats attended the ceremony today.
Launched in 2007 as the Khalifa International Date Palm Award by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the namesake of the award, the initiative is aimed at supporting scientific research and development in the agricultural and date palm sector, and to showcase the UAE’s efforts towards that goal. Since then, hundreds of participants from around the world have taken part in the initiative, which has also seen the award become the most prominent one in the agriculture and date palm industry.
"Undoubtedly, this unique scientific award, honoured as it is identified with the name of our father, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, the leader of its march and builder of its renaissance, would add a new brick, lead to a quality leap and inaugurate a new phase in agricultural innovation and development of the date palm sector at the Arab and international levels," Sheikh Nahyan said.
"Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation has come to complement the march of Khalifa International Date Palm Award which was launched in 2007 and, over eight years, achieved great development and a lot of accomplishments," he added.
Highlighting the importance of agriculture and its contribution to successful civilisations, Sheikh Nahyan said, "The founding father of the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, considered agriculture the bulwark of civilisation and the main reason of progress and prosperity and a pillar of the economy of the modern state," he said. "With determination, wisdom and will, he managed to overpower difficulties and overcome obstacles to transform the desert into a green paradise."
The minister also said research into new innovative methods for agriculture production was crucial to achieve food security.
"With wars and droughts, many regions in the world are witnessing and leading to severe deficiency in food and imbalance of the world food security. It is [therefore] very necessary to launch initiatives to motivate innovation, creativity, finding of proper and effective solutions and providing research and studies that would contribute to minimising the problems that such circumstances cause," he said.
"We hope that Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation would contribute to finding solutions and outlets for many of the problems the agricultural sector is suffering, so as to ensure achievement of the highest productivity standard of all agricultural crops and to contribute towards providing food to the greatest number of people in the world," he added.
Jose Graziano, director of the United Nations Agriculture and Food Organisation (FAO), who was also present at the launch, praised the UAE for its diligent efforts in providing food security for its citizens and residents, as well as its worldwide contributions.
"The United Arab Emirates has already achieved the first of the Millennium Developmental Goals, namely, concerning reduction of hunger, and succeeded in maintaining malnutrition at levels lower than 5 per cent since 1990. The United Arab Emirates has also sustained its position as the largest donor of foreign aid in the world," he said.
Applications for the award open from 1st May to 31st October.
Winners will be announced in the second week of February 2017 and the honouring ceremony will be held in the second week of March 2017.
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