Dr. Abdul Wahab Zayed, the Secretary General of the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation (KIADPAI), visited the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) to have a closer insight on NARC’S scientific research activities and to explore possible linkages of cooperation between the two parties in agricultural aspects. 

Dr. Nizar Haddad, the Director General of NARC, expressed his enthusiasm about this visit and said that this cooperation is an indication of the good relations between the two countries, led by His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, who pay great attention towards joint Arab cooperation, particularly in the areas of enhancing food security, recognizing at the same time the KIADPAI's leading role in promoting agricultural innovation in the field of date palm. Haddad highlighted how this meeting is important in building linkages of cooperation and networking with the KIADPAI; which is considered one of the well reputed awards, known in the Arab region and internationally, as this award has played a strategic role in developing the date palm sector in Jordan and the Arab region through organizing many date palm festivals in many Arab countries.

Haddad mentioned that Jordan Date Palm Festival is a success story and a marketing window for many date palm farmers, emphasizing on the significant achievements by NARC researchers in the date palm sector, where a few won several international date palm awards, and that Jordan is fully aware of the importance of cultivating date palm varieties of high added value such as Medjool and Barhi, in addition to the constant aspiration of NARC to promote non-traditional cultivations that meet the needs of domestic and international markets in terms of quality and food safety standards, by implementing scientific research outputs, harnessing research potential, developing tools, and adopting modern technologies, as well as, helping farmers to adopt these technologies so that they can improve their income and raise their standard of living by increasing the added value and developing value chains for agricultural products.

Haddad added that NARC is always keen to find solutions to face challenges confronting the date palm sector, especially with regard to climate change, and water and energy issues, such as the phenomenon of peeling of date palm fruits, and NARC is exploring cooperation opportunities with the KIADPAI to benefit from the UAE's experiences in the field of date palm, capacity buildings of researchers, and farmers to adopt modern technologies.

The Secretary General of the award, Dr. Abdul Wahab Zayed, commended on NARC’s role in developing scientific research and leading research achievements in the region, in addition to its efforts exerted to confront agricultural challenges, and admired the strong desire of NARC researchers to gain international awards in date palm research.

Zayed further expressed his pride in the scientific advancement of NARC and the infrastructure of its facilities and buildings, particularly the Agricultural Innovation and Entrepreneurship Incubator, which is considered as a marketing window for creative ideas and  pioneering stories that emulate leadership and modernization, while illustrating the significance of knowledge sharing and technical exchange between the two parties through capacity-building, qualification, and training of agricultural researchers to promote the agricultural sector sustainable development.