On December 23, 2023, the Director General of the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority issued Decision No. (62) of 2023 regarding the determination of plant and animal activities for conducting economic activities on farms, applicable to farms engaging in economic activities in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The decision stipulated the necessity of engaging in one of the specified plant production activities to obtain a license for conducting economic activities on the farm. This means that those wishing to engage in economic activities on their farms in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi must obtain an economic activity license from the authority.

To obtain this license and according to Article (2) of the decision, it is necessary to engage in one of the following plant production activities on the farm:

1- Planting a minimum of 25% of the farm’s area with one of the following plant production activities:

a. Fruit trees (at a rate of one fruit tree per 40 square meters).

b. Open-field vegetable crops with two winter and summer crops throughout the agricultural season for each crop.

c. Palm trees (at a rate of one palm tree per 100 square meters).

2- Cultivating vegetable crops in protected greenhouses (net, plastic, or glass), covering an area of no less than 10% of the total farm area (every 1 protected dunam is equivalent to 2.5 dunams of farm area).

3- Cultivating fodder crops is subject to owning recognized and registered livestock by the authority, with a maximum of 40% of the total area, provided it does not exceed 10 dunams. Farms irrigated with recycled water are exempt from this requirement.

4- Combining the activities mentioned in the above paragraphs is permissible, provided that the minimum required areas are adhered to.

According to the text of the mentioned article, if there are natural circumstances or obstacles preventing the practice of the mentioned activities, such as water depletion, waterlogging, or an increase in the salinity level of irrigation water exceeding 10,000 parts per million, then in this case, it is permissible to engage in one of the following animal production activities on the farm to obtain a license for conducting economic activities on the farm:

a. Sheep farming, provided that the minimum number of sheep is not less than 100 head, and they must be present on the farm year-round.

b. Camel farming, provided that the minimum number of camels is not less than 20 head, and they must be present on the farm year-round.

c. Cow farming, provided that the minimum number of cattle is not less than 20 head, and they must be present on the farm year-round.

d. Poultry farming (open system), with a minimum of 2000 chickens required to be present on the farm year-round.

e. Poultry farming (closed system), with a minimum of 1000 chickens required to be present on the farm.

f. Aquaculture on land (fish and crustaceans), with a minimum of 1 ton of the fish species specified by the authority required to be present on the farm.

Finally, it is necessary to comply with all the requirements and permits required for practicing agricultural and economic activities on farms according to the prevailing legislation in this regard.

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