Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, on Wednesday heralded the third harvest of a vast wheat farm which is helping to bolster the emirate's food security, while sowing the seeds for a more sustainable future.
The farm in Mleiha was transformed from a stretch of barren desert land in 2022 into fertile ground for an ambitious mission to spur local food production and generate jobs in farming.
The initiative is reaping rewards, with an anticipated yield of 6,000 tonnes of organic wheat from a bumper harvest planted across 1,428 hectares.
Sheikh Dr Sultan took part in a harvest ceremony in which he launched organic products cultivated under the Saba Sanabel (Seven Spikes) wheat brand. These include pasta, croissants, cakes, biscuits, semolina and traditional Arabic bread.
The thriving farm is central to a broader drive – in Sharjah and across the Emirates – to invest in local agriculture to reduce reliance on imported goods and to champion local produce.
The Sharjah Ruler's grants this season have provided 25 tonnes of premium wheat seeds, benefiting 559 farmers.
Sharjah's wheat farm – in pictures
Dr Khalifa Al Tunaiji, chairman of the Department of Agriculture and Livestock and chief executive of Sharjah Agriculture and Livestock Production (Iktifa), said the third season has seen the cultivation of 1,450 non-GMO (genetically modified organisms) soft and hard wheat strains, doubling the number from previous seasons.
The Mleiha wheat farm uses advanced irrigation technologies, resulting in 30 per cent lower water consumption. Satellite technology delivers daily updates on farm activities, irrigation methods and crop health.
Growing strong
In October, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, unveiled the Plant the Emirates initiative.
The project will include establishing a national agriculture centre and a number of targets for the next five years. They include a 20 per cent increase in production from farms, a 25 per cent increase in the number of organic farms and a 30 per cent increase in the percentage of farms that adopt climate-smart solutions.
Other goals include a 50 per cent reduction in waste from agricultural production, a 15 per cent increase in the number of workers in the farming sector, a 25 per cent increase in use of local products in the restaurant and hotel sector, and for 85 per cent of local farms to obtain the quality classification seal.
As part of the project local communities will also grow produce at home, Wam reported, and help to enhance green areas across the country.
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
The Scale for Clinical Actionability of Molecular Targets
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Know your cyber adversaries
Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.
Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.
Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.
Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.
Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.
Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.
Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.
Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.
Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.
Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
