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Theme 3: Conservation and Development of UAEs Indigenous Agricultural Genetic Resources ​

The objective of Theme 3 is to support the conservation and characterization of existing national agricultural resources, and elucidate opportunities for developing novel food, feed or biofertilizers based on currently unused species native to the UAE.

The last decades have witnessed an alarming decline in farm animal and crop biodiversity. High yielding hybrid crop cultivars and animal breeds that provide homogeneous product quality and compatibility with advanced production technologies have superseded traditional landraces in many parts of the world. Globalization of markets and an associated unification of dietary preferences is currently accelerating this process. The need of farm animals and crops for protection from unfavorable abiotic and biotic environmental conditions increases proportionally with their genetic uniformity. Despite the economic advantages that modern breeds may provide, it should not be forgotten that climate control systems needed to support these come at high costs of energy and other non-renewable resources. Recent increases in the application rates of pesticides and antibiotics in agriculture are most likely a result of the high susceptibility of genetically uniform cultivars or breeds to pests and pathogens. ​

​Subthemes​

There is an increasing public awareness of public health risks and animal welfare issues associated with intensive poultry production, resulting in a rapidly growing market for more sustainably farmed chicken eggs and meat. Though free range chicken are kept on many small-scale farms, their commercial production is hampered by the unavailability of well characterized local poultry breeds. The aim of this subtheme is thus to collect and characterize poultry genotypes native to the UAE, and to develop and improve national dual-purpose breeds suitable for organic farming systems.

Working Groups:

Microalgae are photosynthetic aquatic microorganisms that produce biomass with a high protein content. Different from agricultural crops, some microalgae can proliferate in saline water, especially when it is rich in nutritional elements. The cultivation of microalgae thus provides an opportunity for the valorization of saline effluents from aquaculture. This subtheme strives to isolate and characterize microalgae from the UAE and develop technologies for their cultivation as functional food or feed for fish and poultry.
 
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In the UAE, climatic and soil conditions are challenging for the growth of crops. The roots of plants native to desert environments often harbor microorganisms able to support their growth, e.g. by improving the nutrient availability, fixing atmospheric nitrogen, or reducing plant uptake of NaCl and other harmful compounds. This subtheme strives to isolate such microorganisms from the rhizosphere of desert plants and test their ability to support the performance of crops. Plant growth promoting rhizosphere microbes from the UAE can ultimately be used to produce biofertilizers and inoculants.
 
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There is a high biodiversity among woody plant species native to the UAE. This subtheme elucidates opportunities for harnessing native trees and shrubs for the creation of multi-purpose plantations in urban and peri-urban environments. Some of the many purposes that these plantations have, is the provision of water-saving urban greenery, alleviation of urban heat islands, production of food, feed, and nutraceuticals, and the conservation of flora and fauna native to the UAE.

Working Groups:

Food security increases with increasing diversity of food production systems and available products. Since conventional crop production is challenged by harsh environmental conditions in the UAE, alternative food production systems based on aquaculture, insect farming, and unconventional are developed and tested by ARIFSID. This subtheme investigates how and to which extent such novel food can be accepted by consumers and established on the UAE food market.
 
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Nov 25, 2025