ADFSC & FSCAD Launch the Hydroponics Program as a First Project of the Fund

Abu Dhabi on 11/12/2013: HE Khalifa Ahmed Al Ali, Managing Director of the Abu Dhabi Farmers' Services Center (ADFSC) has announced the launch of the Agricultural Investment Fund with a budget estimated at 100 million dirhams spent evenly over five years to support and finance the use of modern farming techniques, including hydroponics in greenhouses.

The aim of the Fund, which will spend about 20 million dirhams per year until 2017, is to achieve sustainability and contribute to the dissemination of food security umbrella in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The Fund will be implemented in partnership between the ADFSC and the Food Security Center in Abu Dhabi (FSCAD) in the farms of the Abu Dhabi Emirate.

Al Ali said, in a press conference, yesterday, on the marge of Zayed Heritage Festival events in Al Wathbah, that the Agricultural Investment Fund is a development program including a range of services and financing and non- financing facilities to support farmers in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The focus, in the first phase, will be on the support and development of hydroponics agriculture in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. This as one of the services and projects offered in the first year to support local farm owners, work to develop their farms, and encourage them to adopt the latest technologies and agricultural techniques likely to reduce water consumption and increase the quality and efficiency of production. The aim is to contribute to the increase and enhancement of food security and the development of the agriculture sector in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. This program will include other techniques and practices in the field of agriculture in the coming years.

"The project consists of the establishment of a soft loan Fund to finance agricultural projects; the Fund will cover 50% of the total cost of the project, while the beneficiary farmer will cover the rest of the costs. The farmer will pay the value of the loan (interest-free) over five years deducted from the revenues of marketing the project products. If the farm has existing greenhouses, it must meet the criteria and specifications of the greenhouses approved by the ADFSC. However, in case of installing new greenhouses, the farmer covers 50% of the total cost of the greenhouses and the hydroponics system paid in advance." He added,

In order for the farmer to register in the Fund, the farmer needs to meet veral conditions, the most important amongst them is to sign the project work plan for a period of five years with the ADFSC, a supply agreement with the same duration to ensure the payment of the loan. The applicant should be a member and shall give the ADFSC the authority to evaluate and monitor the progress of the project. Moreover, the farm should comply with the water requirements in terms of quantity & quality plus electricity supply requirements in addition to attending the training program.

The Fund aims to encourage farmers to introduce modern agricultural techniques as one of the main pillars with view to enhance the sustainability of the agriculture sector and reduce the harmful effects on the environment. Also, to contribute to the food security system, develop the skills of local farmers through the introduction of new farming techniques and the adoption of the best agricultural practices. The other objective is to contribute to the transfer of advanced technologies in the agriculture sector, improve farm productivity in terms of quantity and quality and enhance the farmers' income by increasing the productivity of existing and new investments.

Different techniques of hydroponics in greenhouses help to make the optimal use of water resources in the country. Hydroponics also provides the necessary protection to products against the local harsh weather conditions and pests. Moreover, it provides them with the ideal growing conditions and enables farmers to produce throughout the year and with high efficiency, which contributes significantly to the enhancement of food security for the UAE. The use of hydroponics techniques in greenhouses does not require the use of soil, which means that the local low-fertility soil will not pose a problem to production.

Hydroponics in greenhouses is considered an economical alternative to traditional crops in open fields to grow crops of economic value and good qualities as it produces the largest quantity and with a better quality in less space and better economically feasible character for most crops.

The hydroponics project is the first program to be be implemented by the Fund for the following reasons:

  • The possibility to grow in any place, regardless of the nature of the soil in the growing area.

  • Water and fertilizers saving due to the absence of losses in the soil thanks to recycling runoff water and nutrients back into the system.

  • Reduction of the use of chemical pesticides to control pests that inhabit the soil, such as insects, fungi, nematodes, and weeds.

  • Maximizing production while using limited amounts of water and fertilizers, where it is done through providing ideal growing conditions for plants.

  • Enabling farmers to have control over all the elements necessary for plant growth and overcome the harsh weather conditions that adversely affect the production, which increases the efficiency of production quality and quantity

  • Enabling farmers to grow crops outside the traditional off-season and throughout the year, leading to the achievement of better returns and provision of high quality products throughout the year.

From his part, Christopher Hirst, ADFSC CEO said that the ADFSC would provide all forms of technical support to beneficiary farmers, will work to develop their farms, and encourage them to adopt the latest technologies and agricultural techniques likely to reduce water consumption and increase the quality and efficiency of production. The ADFSC objective is to contribute to the increase and enhancement of food security and the development of the agriculture sector in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

He further pointed out that the implementation of the project will go through several stages; the process of registration at the Customer Service in the ADFSC Head Office, followed by the farm assessment by a specialized technical team and in accordance with clear criteria and requirements, plus the process of selecting beneficiaries, and ending with organizing the training program.

© Press Release 2013