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UAE: New agreement to help firms improve local production and maximise human capital

Actions to be taken include practical and field training for veterinarians and carrying out a series of workshops

In a move to improve local production and enhance the skills of Emirati and expat talents, Al Ajban Poultry has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Emirates Veterinary Association.

The MoU is in support of the UAE’s National Food Security Strategy 2051, through which the country aims to achieve zero hunger by ensuring access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round throughout the world.

Under the terms of the agreement, both parties will plan and coordinate in order to maximise benefits from their human resources to support research and enhance scientific knowledge and open new horizons of cooperation between both parties in their common interests.

Actions to be taken include practical and field training for veterinarians in the latest technology used in poultry production, and carrying out a series of workshops and training sessions between both parties to enhance awareness and knowledge of biosecurity and innovations that help produce healthy and high quality local poultry products, thereby contributing to the UAE’s national food security program.

Speaking on the values of the MoU, Dr Mohammed Ezzat El Agamy, General Manager of Al Ajban Poultry, said that it was important to recognize the importance of veterinary medicine as first protection and defence line to protect humans from zoonotic diseases which could be transmitted to humans through poultry products and animal based food.

He said: “Al Ajban is a leading company in the field, and we strive to succeed through our commitment to excellence with innovation and superior product quality in the poultry industry, so that we can fulfill our commitment to provide the best services and poultry products from both chicken meat and hatching egg toenhance our quality of life.

“By signing this MoU, we are demonstrating how keen we are to provide the necessary knowledge and research for better talents and to contribute to ensuring food security in the region by providing good healthy products, in support of our CSR activities and commitment to excellence. This agreement will open the doors to a new era of cooperation in the quest to make the UAE the world’s best in the Global Food Security Index by 2051.”

Dr Roula Shaaban Ibrahim of the Emirates Veterinary Association and World Veterinary Association Councillor for Middle East and North Africa said: “Such collaboration will re-direct UAE-based talent within the veterinary sector who have previously chosen to work in the companion animals and equine fields, but now will appreciate the need to diversify that by becoming involved in other fields that will support the food security strategy of the UAE, as they take advantage of the very best training in practical techniques and involvement in research and development.” ​

The World Veterinary Association Congress brings together veterinarians from all over the world to exchange experiences and knowledge in the fields of veterinary medicine and the 37th Congress highlighted the values of clinical veterinary therapy, public veterinary health, animal care, as well as technologies and innovations.

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During the congress, Dr Ezzat presented a key note speech on the Role of Probiotics in Poultry Production, explaining how the beneficial bacteria, only recently used in poultry production as an alternative to antibiotic medication, had proved to be an effective way to end the use of Antibiotic Growth Promotors (ABGP) and thus help in lowering hazardous of antibiotic residues and bacterial resistance.

He noted that this had come about as the result of much research and reflected the importance of training UAE talents in various related fields to maintain food security.

The UAE’s National Strategy for Food Security was launched in 2018 by Mariam Hareb Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment. The strategy defines the elements of the national food basket, which includes 18 main types, based on 3 main criteria of knowledge of the volume of domestic consumption of the most important products, production capacity, and processing and nutritional needs.

The people of the UAE have always had a close relationship with the animals of the land; now, with this MoU in place, a number of Emiratis are set to transform animal care, animal production and food security as they graduate in increasing numbers from UAE’s first university-based veterinary program, and join with international experts in support of strategy aims to achieve zero hunger by ensuring access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round throughout the world.