The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) has announced the third Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Agricultural Excellence Award will take place in Abu Dhabi.

Organised by ADAFSA under the theme Innovative Farmers & Breeders with a Sustainable Vision, the third edition of the awards will introduce a new award category structure, as well as competitions, cash prizes, accompanying festivals, and updated evaluation criteria.

ADAFSA is now accepting nominations from farmers and livestock breeders from across the UAE who meet the specific requirements for each of the award's main and sub-categories.

Applications will remain open until 15 November 2024, followed by judging, evaluation, and site visits to select the finalists, with the winners to be announced in February 2025.

The announcement was made during a press conference at ADAFSA’s headquarters, in the presence of H.E. Mouza Suhail Al Muhairi, Chairman, Supreme Committee of the Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Agricultural Excellence Award; H.E. Ahmed Khalid Othman, Vice Chairman of the Supreme Organising Committee of the Award; H.E. Mubarak Ali Al Mansouri, Chairman of the award's Accompanying Competitions & Festivals Committee; and Jaber Mohammed Al Neyadi, member of the Supreme Committee of the Sheikh Zayed Festival (SZF).

Her Excellency Mouza Suhail Al Muhairi said: “The UAE agriculture sector, in both horticulture and livestock fields, continues to make significant strides towards adopting global best practices and contributing to meeting the requirements of the local market.

"The Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Agricultural Excellence Award seeks to promote these efforts across the UAE, as it provides a competitive environment that stimulates innovation and encourages farmers and livestock breeders to adopt best practices, while developing sustainable local agricultural and food production.

"The Award's objectives are aligned with the National Food Security Strategy 2051 and Abu Dhabi's sustainable agricultural development plans.

“This year's edition of the Award holds special national significance as it coincides with the Year of Sustainability for the second consecutive year, building on the successes achieved by the UAE last year, which culminated with the hosting of COP28.

"Our achievements in the past year drive us towards greater ambitions in the field of sustainability - a deeply rooted value in our national identity established by our founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan."

The Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Agricultural Excellence Award offers winners cash prizes totalling more than AED 5.3 million across four main categories and 13 sub-categories, 89 accompanying competitions with AED 4.6 million cash prizes at Sheikh Zayed Festival, for a total cash prize pool of AED 10 million.

The first category, Best Outstanding Plant & Animal Production Farm, includes: the Best Farm in Open Field Cultivation, the Best Farm in Greenhouse Cultivation, the Best Farm in Fruit Production, the Best Organic Farm, Productive livestock Farms, Small-Scale Producers, Beekeepers and Aquatic Farms.

The second category is dedicated to commercial farms and includes two awards, one for commercial plant farms and the other for commercial animal farms. The third category is dedicated to agricultural innovation and includes two awards, the first for plant production and the other for animal production.

Empowering Emirati women and celebrating their essential role in UAE society, the fourth award, best distinguished woman farmer and breeder, includes two sub-awards: one for the best distinguished female farmer, and the other for the best distinguished female breeder.

Her Excellency added: “The award structure covers the entire spectrum of the agricultural sector, stemming from our belief that all farmers, regardless of the size of their business, play a pivotal role in the development of this vital sector in the country.

"We seek to promote a culture of excellence and encourage more farmers to explore agricultural innovations and introduce them to their farms.

"We believe that the cash prizes and the accompanying competitions provide an important source of support for farmers to adopt better sustainable solutions on their farms, thus enhancing their production capabilities and competitiveness in the market.

"In the long term, we trust that the award will inspire younger generations of UAE Nationals to explore the important business opportunities in the agricultural sector as a viable source of income for local families.”

Adhering to the standards of excellence underpinning the award, ADAFSA unveiled the addition of further evaluation criteria that align with its objectives of excellence and sustainability.

The new criteria will cover water footprint, product efficiency, attaining organic farming certification and good agricultural practices, cost value for developing plant and animal farms, and the financial return of the farm, in addition to optimising the application mechanism to facilitate the participation of senior citizens and People of Determination.

This year also, ADAFSA will continue to recognise the top five winners in each category, while updating the recognition mechanism for the top three places to reflect their outstanding achievements.

The Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Agricultural Excellence Award is a major catalyst for farmers and livestock breeders to adopt best practices in the industry.

Now in its third year, the award has become a quality label sought by farmers and livestock breeders, serving as a certification of confidence in national products and their ability to meet the requirements of the local market.

ADAFSA has confirmed its return to the upcoming edition of the Sheikh Zayed Festival, revealing preliminary plans for the activities and events hosted at its pavilion during the festival.

The programme includes five major festivals including the new edition of Al Wathba Flower Festival, Al Wathba Agricultural Festival, Al Wathba Food Festival, Al Wathba Livestock Festival, Al Wathba Honey Festival, and 10 different livestock auctions.

The Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Agricultural Excellence Award attracted 676 participants in its previous two editions, with 107 winners in the main categories and a total cash prize of more than AED 16.7 million.