Effort is Part of Year of Giving Initiatives Launched in Cooperation with Private Sector

Dubai-UAE: 19 July 2017:  In line with the 'Year of Giving' initiative declared by the UAE President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) has launched a series of projects in cooperation with the private sector. MOCCAE is overseeing the spraying of 26,000 palm trees affected by the dust spider with an organic insecticide in the northern, central and eastern regions of the country and is also facilitating 1,000 liters of the organic insecticide in cooperation with Swaidan Trading Company for the project. 

His Excellency Sultan bin Alwan Al Habsi, Assistant Under Secretary for Regions at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, said that the project is part of the Ministry's efforts to preserve the local palm trees and ensure that their fruits are consumed in a healthy and safe manner. The exercise is in line with MOCCAE’s “Nakheelna” initiative launched across agricultural areas in the northern, central and eastern regions.

Al Habsi explained that through applying the principles of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), the “Nakheelna” initiative is mainly aimed at reducing infection in palm trees to 1.5% by end-2017. It includes a complete range of processes and measures to control insect pests, such as spraying palm trees with pesticides, installing and maintaining photovoltaic traps, treating infected trees, intensifying efforts to educate and train farmers and build their capacities in palm tree farming, based on innovative solutions and the latest systems and techniques in this field. 

As part of its efforts to support farmers and develop local agriculture, Al Habsi stated that the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment provides farmers with agricultural needs and requirements at half the price – these include fertilizers, pesticides and seeds, as well as organic farming supplies, such as irrigation pipes, pumps and soil testing equipment, in addition to the Mawroothna card, which was launched by the Ministry to grant farmers and fishermen benefits, discounts and other privileges. These efforts have resulted in an increase in aquatic agriculture by 37.5% over the past three years.

Eng. Hassan Ali Shaaban, General Manager of Swaidan Trading Company, said that the dust spider has an adverse economic impact on date palms in the early stages. The date palm trees start getting infected in the beginning of May and the infection spreads until the end of June. He indicated that the company has worked with the Ministry of Climate Change and the Environment on this initiative and in providing 1,000 liters of organic insecticide. He added that the insecticide does not have a harmful effect on people’s health or on the environment and that crops can be consumed after an hour or two of spraying the insecticide.

The organic insecticide is a natural compound of vegetable oils, and has a high capacity to retain moisture, which prolongs its effectiveness on surfaces. Explaining the efficiency of the concentrated insecticide, Shaaban said it boasted a destruction rate of 99.83%. The insecticide is used to control mites, sooty mold, scale, whitefly and mealy bugs on fruits, nuts, evergreens and woody shrubs.