The Supreme Committee of the Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Agricultural Excellence Award (SMAEA) announced its participation in the Sheikh Zayed Festival 2024-2025 taking place in Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi, from 1 November 2024 until 28 February 2025. Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, the annual festival will celebrate the UAE’s rich history, culture, and heritage.
SMAEA’s 3rd edition, held 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), under the theme Innovative Farmers and Breeders with a Sustainable Vision, will return to the festival with a host variety of activities.
Planned activities include a new edition of Al Wathba Agricultural Festival, Al Wathba Food Festival, Al Wathba Livestock Festival, Al Wathba Honey Festival, and the all-new Al Wathba Flower Festival, in addition to 7 different livestock auctions and 87 accompanying competitions offering cash prizes worth a combined AED4.4 million to more than 400 winners.
Her Excellency Mouza Suhail Al Muhairi, Chairman of the Supreme Committee of the Award, said: “The Sheikh Zayed Festival offers an optimal platform to highlight the development of the agriculture sector both in Abu Dhabi and the UAE, along with supporting and recognising local farmers, livestock breeders, and producing families and individuals. This is achieved by organising various competitions covering agriculture, livestock, food, and honey fields, in addition to our Awareness and Promotion Competition.
“Our efforts come in line with the directions of our wise leadership, which aim to boost agricultural development, advance agricultural technologies, and strengthen our food security by encouraging the local community to support local produce, promoting local agricultural products, and sustainably expanding green spaces in the UAE. Additionally, SMAEA’s awards, festivals, and competitions promote a public appreciation of agriculture sector among local communities and younger generations. As such, we encourage all farmers, breeders, and commercial farms in the UAE to explore and apply for our updated list of competitions to highlight the quality of their products and their commitment to best innovation and sustainability practices.
“In our efforts to diversify our offering and attract the largest numbers of stakeholders in the agriculture sphere, we will organize the first edition of the Al Wathba Flower Festival too, which I am sure will be a popular event highlighting the beauty and diverse uses of flowers, along with the UAE’s efforts to develop the flowers and agricultural beautification sectors with sustainable and innovative practices.”
The first event held as part of the SMAEA pavilion will be Al Wathba Food Festival, held between 1-30 November 2024, and will feature 13 live cooking competitions across various categories, encouraging the use of local products, and helping visitors learn Emirati recipes.
Jaber Mohammed Al Neyadi, Member of the Supreme Committee of the Sheikh Zayed Festival (SZF), said: “We are pleased to welcome SMAEA’s pavilion once again at SZF, as its accompanying festivals and competitions have become key features and popular stops across all our visitor segments. SMAEA’s expanded participation this year is a clear reflection of our shared successful collaboration, together supporting an important and vital sector in Abu Dhabi.”
