Sharjah 24: His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, launched the Mleiha Wheat Farm Project, which aims to support food security programmes in Sharjah and the UAE and has received the Future Fit Seal. Federal and local institutions that create and implement outstanding initiatives receive this indicator.
The award recognises the project's achievements in improving future food security readiness capabilities through the development of proactive models and innovative products supported by future technologies, organic engineering, and data, all under the supervision of Sharjah's Department of Agriculture and Livestock.
This award recognises the farm project's remarkable successes, which seek to produce 15,200 metric tonnes of high-quality organic wheat, covering all of the Emirate's retail wheat demands without the use of pesticides.
The project's research efforts resulted in the development of a new wheat strain known as "Sharjah-1," which is more resistant to climate change and heat, uses 30% less water, has higher productivity, has a higher nutritional value with 19% protein content—the highest globally—and matures and harvests faster thanks to a fully automated, modern irrigation system that uses satellite data.
The Mleiha farm helps to enable integration models with other food security initiatives in the Emirate, while also boosting the Emirate's sustainable circular economy. The initiative also introduced the "Saba Sanabel" wheat brand to suit local market demand and boost output by increasing the cultivated area to 1,900 hectares and planting 285 metric tonnes of wheat seeds.
Furthermore, the system has expanded to include national agricultural entrepreneurship, enabling everyone to participate in increasing output. Last season, 320 farmers planted 15 tonnes of wheat seeds, with ambitions to increase participation in the contractual farming programme the next season to attain greater self-sufficiency indicators for wheat locally.
Ohoud bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and Future, commended the Mleiha Wheat Farm Project team on earning the Future Fit Seal.
She remarked, "The initiative symbolises the intelligent future vision and foresight of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. The Mleiha Wheat Farm Project emphasises the need to prepare the food security sector for the future, which improves human existence."
Dr. Engineer Khalifa Musabah Ahmed Alteneiji, Chairman of the Department of Agriculture and Livestock in Sharjah, noted that the Sharjah Agricultural and Livestock Production Corporation's development projects reflect His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi's commitment to supporting scientific and technological approaches in developing wheat strains with the goal of achieving sustainable productivity in agricultural ecosystems and mitigating the impacts of climate change
Salem Abdullah Al Kaabi, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Livestock in Sharjah, stated that "the Future Fit Seal is a testament to the efforts and tangible results achieved by the department's projects, which adopt sustainability with a forward-looking vision."
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