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Winners of Khalifa Date Palm award announced

Abu Dhabi - The winners will be given the cash prizes up to Dh1million at a ceremony to be held at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi on March 19.

The winners of the 10th edition Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation were announced in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
The winners will be given the cash prizes up to Dh1million at a ceremony to be held at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi on March 19.
Dr Muriel Gros-Balthazard, assistant professor at Institute of Evolution Sciences/ University of Montpellier in France, won this year's award for the Distinguished Innovative studies and Modern Technology category for his research project 'The Discovery of Wild Date Palms in Oman'.
For the Pioneering Development and Productive Projects category, the winner was Mohammed Suhail Al Mazrouei, CEO, Liwa Dates Factory for Food Industries, UAE. The Pioneering and Sophisticated Innovations Serving the Agricultural Sector category awards were given to Dr Luigi Porcella, from the Innovation Electrap in Italy, who presented the Future Innovation Right Solutions Technologies, and the Platform from UAE which presented the project, Utilising Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things technologies for early detection of Red Palm Weevil in Date Palm Tree farms .
For the Influential Figure in the Field of Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation category, Prof Abdallah Ben Abdallah from Tunisia emerged the winner.
Prof Abdelouahhab Zaid, secretary-general of Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, said: "The aim of the award is to promote the date industry in aspects such as increased production and processing including extracting of sugar and producing honey from dates and introduction of dry date cereals. The award has helped to introduce new and modern technologies to dates farming and storage in UAE."
A total of 169 candidates representing 25 countries took part in this year's awards.
Winners of Distinguished Innovative Studies and Modern Technology category and Pioneering Development and Productive Projects category will receive Dh1 million each while in Distinguished Producers in Date Palm Sector and Pioneering and Sophisticated Innovations Serving the Agricultural Sector, the winners will be given Dh750,000 each. 
For the Influential Figure in the Field of Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, the winner will be awarded Dh750,000. All winners will also be given a trophy and an appreciation certificate.
This year's competition has attracted researchers, experts, farmers and those interested in the date palm and agricultural sector in the Arab and international regions.
The distinguished farmer award
The 'UAE Distinguished Farmer Award', was organised by the General Secretariat of the Award in cooperation with Al Foah Company, also announced awards for large farms in the UAE. The four winners of this award include Rashed Saeed Al Eriani, Said Hamouda Al Eriani, Hamid Saeed Al Eriani and Mira Khalfan Al Nuaimi. All of them will receive a cash prize worth Dh125,000. 
Musallam Obaid, CEO of Al Foah, said: "The Distinguished Farmer Award is very important in supporting and motivating the UAE farmers to develop agricultural services, improve UAE dates and enhance competitiveness at the local and international levels."
He praised the winners who are distinguished in cultivating date palm and producing dates in the UAE.
ismail@Khaleejtimes.com