Today's Edition
Ehab Al-Rifa’i (ABU DHABI)
The number of greenhouses in the emirate of Abu Dhabi has increased by 25% over the past five years, reaching 19,303 greenhouses last year, compared to 15,340 greenhouses in 2017, reflecting Abu Dhabi’s increasing application of greenhouses as an agricultural alternative.
The Abu Dhabi Authority for Agriculture and Food Safety revealed that there are currently 19,303 greenhouses in Abu Dhabi, which cover a total area of 6,370 dunums (approximately 6,370,000 square metres).
Al Ain ranked first in the number of greenhouses at 12,667, followed by the Al Dhafra region with 3,939 greenhouses. Abu Dhabi ranked third, with 2,697 greenhouses.
Last year, 6,259 dunums (6,259,000 square metres) of vegetables were planted in the greenhouses, including 4,150 dunums in the Al Ain region, 1,248 dunums in the Al Dhafra region, and 861 dunums in Abu Dhabi.
Greenhouses are a form of protected agriculture, which the Authority defined as the provision of the ideal conditions for plant growth with consideration to water and nutrient needs, resulting in excellent production quantity and quality.
The Authority emphasised the importance of implementing different types of protection systems, which include plastic, glass, or mesh greenhouses, and an agricultural practice known as tunnel farming.
Plastic greenhouses are commonly used for commercial production purposes, given their portability. These greenhouses are airtight, compared to mesh greenhouses, and do not block light like glass greenhouses. Plastic greenhouses are also equipped with a cooling system that works to reduce temperatures in the summer season.
Glass greenhouses, according to the Authority, are commonly used either for decorative or research purposes. They are more expensive than other greenhouse systems and are less affected by wind than their plastic counterparts.
Many farmers are keen to implement greenhouses as an agricultural alternative that offer numerous advantages compared to open-field farming. These advantages include vertical expansion in agriculture, producing certain crops out of their typical seasons, ensuring a high-quality crop yield, increasing production per unit area, and protecting high-value crops from climatic fluctuations, insect infestations, and disease.
Other benefits of greenhouses include reducing the harmful effects resulting from excessive use of pesticides in open fields, conserving the environment, reducing water and fertiliser loss, increasing farmers’ income, and decreasing the area allocated for cultivating the same open field and greenhouse crops simultaneous, which allows open field area to be used for other crops.
Saleh bin Ya’rouf Al-Mansoori, a specialist in protected agriculture in the Al Dhafra region, said that the growing interest in agricultural alternatives and the use of modern agricultural technology has had the most significant impact on the inclination to shift from open-field farming to greenhouse farming.
Al-Mansoori attributed the notable expansion of farmers’ use of protected farming to the recent spate of “great” successes achieved via the practice.
Many farmers are keen to implement greenhouses as an agricultural alternative that offer numerous advantages compared to open-field farming
Advantages of greenhouses include vertical expansion in agriculture, producing certain crops out of their typical seasons, increasing output per unit area, and protecting crops from climatic fluctuations and insect infestations
