Economic Analysis of Agricultural Sector of United Arab Emirates

UAE has a total area of 83600 km² out of 77 700 km² is the mainland surface in which people live. This country is categorized into three ecological zones which includes: the north eastern mountains, sandy/desert areas as well as the marine coastal areas. Although 80% is a desert area Agriculture is an important sector of economy contributing about of 4% of the total GDP annually (Aquastat, n. d). Agriculture is one of the oldest economic activity of the United Arab Emirates. In research, I will substantially discussed and explain some of the negative dimensions for agricultural growth, positive dimensions in agriculture, measures taken to solve the negative dimensions as well as initiatives to future growth. Keywords: organic farming, global markets, fertilizer etc. Negative Dimensions of the Current UAE Agricultural Scenario Recently, the United Arab Emirates population has risen reaching about 9.

5million as per the 20, April 2018 population report. This represents 0. Global Rank 2018 9,541,615 1. Lack of arable land- this is one of the major obstacle to the growth of agriculture in UAE. Most parts of UAE is a desert area characterized by hot and cold climate which is very unfavorable for agriculture. Despite efforts brought about by increased mechanization and irrigation, the agricultural sector is still plaguing behind. About 80% of UAE land is a desert and this hinders agricultural produce. The private sector capacity on the other hand, has capacity which is nearly 25 mn MT. Our cold storehouse volume currently is 25 mn MT which is enough just for 10% of the total fruit and vegetables produced. This means that there is 90% storage deficient for fruits and vegetables which in essence are perishable and easily get spoilt if not stored well.

Despite the proposal of the National Farmers Commission that the local market should be located within 5 km radius, a farmer in UAE still travels an average of 12km to reach the market. This radius even rises to 50km in some of the parts of UAE especially the north eastern part. The Global Scenario: Market Movements Recently the world power-base is shifting very rapidly towards the Asian Economies, Agriculture is proving to be a dominant cultural and economic force and a lot of focus is shifting towards the new age of BRICS economies such as China, Russia, India, South Africa and UAE. United Arab Emirates thus has to take this opportunity. Market Potential – the population of UAE is growing each and every year proving the needed market for the agricultural goods.

According to the market overview report the population of UAE is expected to rise up to 10. 2 million people. Technology is therefore very important and hence the government, non-governmental organization as well as other stakeholders should always aim at basic infrastructure such as technology and transport network so as to help promote agricultural sector. In addition, they should ensure that they aim at improving the technical ability of producers as well as other stakeholders in the value chain, technical assistance in the main functions of productions, showcasing through sufficient public sector assistance , logistics as well as dynamic public-private organizations. Measures taken to promote agricultural Development of UAE Currently agricultural sector is constantly changing. This is due to the advancement in technology as well as intensive capital investment on the agricultural sector by the government.

Improved technology has brought about mechanization of agriculture which has led to increase production despite the high cost involved. Therefore, as time goes and years rolled up, soil mineral content, fertilizers as well as pesticides have become more and more significant. Appropriate and adequate education should therefore be provided to farmers in order to make sure that they utilized the correct fertilizers and pesticides during farming process. In addition, farmers need to be enlightened on how to utilize fertilizers as well as pesticides. Appropriate education programs should be carried out in all parts of the country so as to guarantee adherence. It has been evident that many at times, agricultural produce are rejected in the global market on the grounds that they contain higher amount of pesticides.

In addition, crop rotation is key in this type of farming. This type of farming helps in improving quality of soil, maintaining the ecological as well as human safety which otherwise is prone to threat in regular consumption of food produced using fertilizers. To ensure that it promotes organic farming, ESMA started an organic food certification scheme in 2012 which comes with a logo in which the consumers can easily differentiate between organic products from conventional products. Almost half of the existing 40 organic farms have already been certified and other are in the process. Agriculture hydroponics The government through the ministry Climate Change and Environment has prioritize in improving the utilization of hydroponics technology among the farmers. thenational. ae/uae/environment/funds-to-boost-agriculture-wasted-due-to-lack-of-education-hears-dubai-summit-1.