• 3^rd cycle held under the theme “Innovative Farmers & Breeders with a Sustainable Vision”
• The third edition of the award features 4 main categories, 13 sub-categories and 89 accompanying competitions with a total cash prize pool of more than AED 10 million
• Award main categories recognize the top five winners
• A total of 5 festivals and 10 auctions organized during Sheikh Zayed Festival (SZF) to highlight Abu Dhabi's rich agricultural landscape

Abu Dhabi, UAE; September 16, 2024: Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President of the UAE, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Presidential Court and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA), ADAFSA announced the launch of the 3^rd Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Agricultural Excellence Award under the theme Innovative Farmers & Breeders with a Sustainable Vision”. The announcement introduced the new award category structure, competitions, cash prizes, accompanying festivals, and updated evaluation criteria.

ADAFSA has also confirmed opening applications for the award via its website smaea.ae, 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 November 15, 2024, followed by judging, evaluation, and site visits to select the finalists, with the winners to be announced in February 2025.

The announcement came during a press conference held by ADAFSA’s headquarter, in the presence of Her Excellency Mouza Suhail Al Muhairi, Chairman of the Supreme Committee of the Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Agricultural Excellence Award; His Excellency Ahmed Khalid Othman, Vice Chairman of the Supreme Organizing Committee of the award; His Excellency Mubarak Ali Al Mansouri, Chairman of the award's Accompanying Competitions & Festivals Committee; and Mr. Jaber  Mohammed Al Neyadi, Member of the Supreme Committee of the Sheikh Zayed Festival (SZF).

Her Excellency Mouza Suhail Al Muhairi, Chairman of the Supreme Committee of the Award, 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.”

Her Excellency added: “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.”

4 main categories & 13 subcategories, enhanced judging criteria & larger prizes across categories

The Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Agricultural Excellence Award offers winners cash prizes totaling more than AED 5.3 million across 4 main categories and 13 sub-categories, namely the Best Outstanding Plant & Animal Production Farm, including: 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. On the other hand, 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 women and celebrating their essential role in the Emirati society, the award introduces the best distinguished woman farmer and breeder award, which includes two sub-awards: one for the best distinguished female farmer, and the other for the best distinguished female breeder.

Her Excellency explained: “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 optimizing the application mechanism to facilitate the participation of senior citizens and people of determination. This year also, ADAFSA will continue to recognize the top five winners in each category, while updating the recognition mechanism for the top three places to reflect their outstanding achievements.

A Quality Label for National Agricultural Products

ADAFSA has established the Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Agricultural Excellence Award as 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.

Her Excellency continued: “at ADAFSA, we remain committed to supporting sustainable farming practices, with the aim of promoting the competitiveness of local agricultural products and ensuring food availability and safety. The prestigious Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Agricultural Excellence Award offers a comprehensive recognition system for the agricultural sector. However, the award is not merely a recognition of a farm's specific agricultural initiative, but rather a quality label for the winners' products. Therefore, we encourage consumers in Abu Dhabi and across the UAE to keep up with every stage of the award, learn about the winners in the various categories, and make sure to support them and choose local products, given their outstanding standards of quality, health, and safety.”

5 festivals, 89 accompanying competitions with AED 4.6 million cash prizes at Sheikh Zayed Festival

ADAFSA has confirmed its return to the upcoming edition of Sheikh Zayed Festival, revealing preliminary plans for the activities and events hosted at its pavilion during the festival. The program includes 5 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, in addition to organizing 10 different livestock auctions.

Her Excellency concluded: “ADAFSA is always keen to take part in Sheikh Zayed Festival and leverage its platform to showcase the thriving agriculture sector in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. This includes organizing competitions to recognize outstanding practices across the sector, ranging from crop categories to packaging and presentation, to cooking and culinary competitions that attract a large number of people from across the Emirate.”

It is worth mentioning that 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.