Silal, owned by Abu Dhabi state-backed firm ADQ, has rolled out a new project that offers farmers free soil analysis, economical farming practices and better yield.

Established in September 2020, Silal's main focus is to diversify food sources and increase locally grown, raised and produced food.

Based on the new project, Silal will provide all its contracted farmers with free soil and water analysis reports that determine the nutrients required to grow crops more efficiently, and to minimise the use of excess and unnecessary fertilisers.

Each farmer will receive customised technical suggestion reports from Silal, which will guide them in purchasing the required product quantities to grow their crops effectively and with the least amount of fertilisers, thereby reducing the overall cost burden, Silal said.

Silal will analyse soil samples to track the exact amount of nutrients, which helps farmers adjust fertilisation in accordance with soil and crop requirements.

The water samples will be tested to determine the quality of the water to be used for irrigation, to aid in the choice of fertilisers for optimum plant growth, and to minimise the risk of discharging pollutants to the surface.

All these readings and inferences will be mentioned in the report, along with technical advice by Silal on the needed fertiliser and water amounts.

"Additionally, Silal’s Agricultural Engineers will work with the farmers to apply the necessary soil nutrients and limit fertilisers to ensure maximum crop yield," it said.

Silal has been contributing the UAE’s National Food Security Strategy. Last year, it signed a deal with Agritek LLC, a major UAE-based agricultural projects developer, to build large scale agriculture projects using technology solutions on Silal’s development projects in Abu Dhabi.

UAE is ranked first in the MENA region on the Global Food Security Index 2022. Globally, the UAE reached 23rd place, marking an improvement of 12 points on previous year.

(Reporting by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com; eiditing by Daniel Luiz)