Sheikh Mansour Agricultural Excellence Award returns to Sheikh Zayed Festival with expanded competitions and higher prizes

The award’s presence at the festival builds on its ongoing participation since the first edition of the event, which serves as a key community platform for engaging directly with farmers, livestock breeders, beekeepers, productive families and others active in agriculture. This involvement helps the award promote a culture of excellence in farming and showcase national success stories, outstanding models and leading practices that have advanced agricultural, livestock and food production across the UAE.

Pavilion activities and competitions

Through its participation, the award aims to strengthen ties with the agricultural community, expand the reach and impact of its programmes, and encourage farmers, breeders, beekeepers and productive families to adopt innovative and sustainable methods. These efforts support the development of the agricultural sector and its role in food security and sustainable development, while also highlighting the work of the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority in building a more sustainable agricultural system.

At its dedicated pavilion within the festival, the award will host a range of activities, festivals and accompanying competitions, alongside exhibitions of projects by winners across various award categories. Visitors can see models of innovative farming practices and community initiatives in food security.

The pavilion’s programme for the new cycle includes five accompanying festivals: the Food Festival, Livestock Festival, Flower Festival, Honey Festival and Plant Festival. In addition, 97 competitions will target different fields of agricultural, livestock and food production. These competitions offer cash prizes totalling up to 4 million dirhams for about 550 winners, creating a competitive platform to highlight the quality of local products and levels of production excellence, and to encourage continuous improvement and innovation across agricultural activities.

The competitions are distributed as follows: 57 for livestock, 14 for food, 10 for honey, 9 for flowers and 7 for plants. This variety reflects the diversity of the UAE’s agricultural sector and provides space for positive competition, knowledge exchange and the showcasing of best production practices. It also supports local producers, raises the profile of Emirati products and strengthens the culture of agricultural excellence at the community level.

Official’s remarks on outreach and impact

Mubarak Al Qusaili Al Mansouri, Chairman of the Festivals and Accompanying Competitions Committee, said that the award’s participation in the Sheikh Zayed Festival is one of the most important channels for direct communication with farmers, breeders, beekeepers and productive families. He noted that it reinforces the award’s presence in the community and its mission to spread a culture of excellence, innovation and sustainability in agriculture.

Al Mansouri added that over previous cycles, the festival has served as an effective platform for introducing the award’s objectives and the achievements of its winners, and for highlighting national success stories and distinguished models in agricultural, livestock and food production. This, he said, enhances the exchange of expertise and encourages the adoption of best practices and modern technologies in the sector.

He pointed out that the award’s participation is part of efforts to develop the agricultural sector and boost its contribution to food security and sustainability. By motivating farmers and local producers to improve their work, raise production efficiency and product quality, the award encourages community members and younger generations to take up agriculture and local production as a fundamental pillar of sustainable development.

Al Mansouri explained that the pavilion’s activities, which continue throughout the Sheikh Zayed Festival, help entrench a culture of agriculture among community members and younger generations, and raise awareness of the importance of the agricultural sector in achieving food security. He called on farmers, livestock breeders and owners of commercial farms to review the competitions on offer and participate, demonstrating the quality of their products and their commitment to innovation and sustainability standards.

Expanded fifth cycle and key details

The fifth cycle sees an expansion in the programme of accompanying festivals and competitions compared to the previous cycle, reflecting the award’s aim to broaden its societal reach and engage wider segments of farmers, breeders and local producers, Al Mansouri noted. This supports the agricultural development journey and aligns with the UAE’s goals in achieving food security and sustainability.

The total value of prizes for the fifth cycle amounts to about 10 million dirhams, distributed across 13 main categories, including two new ones: “Best Supporting Marketing Outlet” and “Agricultural Impact Maker.” The cycle also includes 97 accompanying competitions, up from 77 in the fourth cycle, an increase of 26 percent. In addition, five festivals are organised within the activities of the Sheikh Zayed Festival in Al Wathba.

Applications for registration in the various categories will be accepted until 15 December 2026. The award aims to expand the participant base, attract more farmers, breeders and producers, and support distinguished models that contribute to developing the agricultural sector and strengthening food security and sustainability in the UAE.