The UAE is witnessing a great development in date palm cultivation, thanks to the wise leadership’s interest and guidance, which was reflected through specialized festivals that celebrate the dates and dates seasons throughout the year, which contributes to preserving the social and cultural heritage of the value of the palm, and enhances opportunities for exchanging experiences and knowledge of the palm’s large resources among farmers. Investors and the younger generation.
The festivals specialized in date palms provide favorable opportunities for young people, investors and farmers to exchange experiences and knowledge of the vast palm resources, which motivates them to take an interest in the integrated resources of the palm.
For decades, some factories in the UAE have turned to manufacturing products with modern and innovative designs from the secondary resources of palm trees, including leaves and wicker, making baskets, “wheels” and “chairs” and ceiling decorations for homes. And all of these products are environmentally friendly.
Despite the economic importance of the palm tree with all its products, there is another historical and moral aspect related to the palm’s role in maximizing family and societal cohesion, and it remains the largest factor in the inherited preservation of palm farms in the Emirates between generations.
The Emirate of Abu Dhabi attaches great importance to the establishment of specialized festivals that coincide with the harvest seasons of dates and dates, which are separated by a few months, to confirm the value of the palm tree and its importance in the lives of the people of the Emirates, ancient and modern, and in order to build a map of knowledge passed on by generations. The city of Liwa in the Al Dhafra region hosts two festivals specialized in date palm and its products and related industries. During the wet season, the Liwa Date Festival, which was held in its eighteenth session from 16 to 24 July, is organized by the Cultural and Heritage Festivals and Programs Management Committee. The committee also recently announced the launch of the first session of the Liwa Dates Festival and Auction, from October 15 to 24, in the city of Liwa, famous for its palm oases.
These festivals are a clear confirmation that the palm will remain the focus of the great attention it deserves, whether in the heritage and history of the UAE or its role in achieving the economic well-being of its farmers and supporting all local products to continue to ensure the leadership of the food security system in the country.
The palm tree has a story in the heart of every Emirati. It is a memory that bears the giving of grandparents and records their many names and stories. The palm plantations constitute an extended legacy that passes from grandfather to grandchildren, carrying with him a lot of feelings for the children and a lot of belonging, except for the good that the palm brings to the farmer, which is the economic aspect.
The people of the Emirates are associated with a growing love for the date palm and dates since childhood and a great passion for it and its different types, which prompts those interested in it to establish festive seasons as it is a renewed opportunity to display the Emirati attachment to these delicious fruits, despite the different dietary habits and the multiple choices of consumers due to the development of modern life.
The cultivation and care of date palms in the UAE was not recent, or dates back to the early twentieth century only, but is much older, and it is not separated in the context of its historical existence from the history of the existence and emergence of date palms in the Arabian Peninsula or other places of spread, especially that the state The Emirates are full of areas where palm cultivation spreads in large areas, and there is no evidence for that from the Al Dhafra region in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
As for the date varieties available in the country, it is estimated that they amount to 120 local varieties, and they either originated mainly locally, or were introduced from neighboring regions, while the residents of the UAE, on the diversity of their culture, even non-agricultural specialists know the differences between the taste of those dates. The most famous varieties, where everyone has his taste and preferences for dates.
Dates are a symbol of prosperity and joy that coincides with the harvest season for all family members, so the palm is part of the heritage formation, and it is one of the plants that support environmental sustainability, as dates are one of the best foods for humans except for the palm’s ability to adapt to environmental stresses, and it is one of the trees The cleanliness that enhances the cleanliness of the place and reduces heat in cities. Dates also occupy a special priority on the map of agricultural and economic development, as the date palm represents in the country of increasing economic importance to enhance food security by developing and exploiting natural resources and achieving sustainable development.
In numbers, the UAE has reached an advanced level in the production of dates and dates and their exports to the countries of the world. Dates exports amounted to regarding 220 tons, exported to 84 countries, according to foreign trade figures for the past year, thanks to the directives of the wise leadership and its wise vision in the development of the agricultural sector.
The palm tree is linked in the Arab heritage with many traditional crafts and social and cultural rituals, as well as the economic aspect, by making use of its basic resources in manufacturing industries and transforming them into competitive products in the local and global markets in ways that open the windows of creativity for young people to innovate and invest. (wam)
