Top speakers from around the world will discuss several challenges at the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA) to be held tomorrow (March 20) in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The three-day event, being held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, Minister of Presidential Affairs and chairman of Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA), will take place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

The GFIA conference will feature speakers tackling five key challenges: climate-resilient crops; growing the aquaculture industry; future-proofing animal health; smallholder farmer development; and sustainable animal production.  

The first day of the conference will start with a welcome address by HE Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment in the UAE.  

Among the other highlights on the first day is a session on date palm production, which will present the challenges and opportunities facing producers of dates, one of the most important crops in the Middle East, and will include Dr Majid Sultan Al Qassimi, director of the Animal Health and Development Department of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment.

Thamer Al Qasemi, director of the communication and community service Division at ADFCA, said: “When the GFIA was launched in 2014, it leveraged partnerships with over 40 influential organisations that wanted a platform to show the world how technology gives us the only real change of feeding nine billion people without destroying the environment.”

“Now in its fourth edition, the GFIA is not only a forum for key stakeholders to discuss policy, strategy and solutions for a food secure future, but a live marketplace for suppliers to meet thousands of farmers and procurement managers from government, food producers, agri-businesses, NGOs and cooperatives,” he said.

“The ADFCA has supported the development of GFIA since its inception and this year, we are hosting two unique programmes – one for farmers flying into Abu Dhabi from around the world and another for the very best scientists working in sustainable agriculture,” Al Qasemi added.

“These programmes will have a great impact on the success of the event as we tackle the overarching aim of achieving environmentally responsible farming practices,” he stated.
 
GFIA will feature an exhibition hosting some 250 companies, and an Innovations Programme, showcasing a series of 15-minute talks from companies who think they have a next-generation solution that could shape the future of farming around the world, it added. – TradeArabia News Service