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Sporting a new look, the 13th Liwa Dates Festival opened its doors on Wednesday, July 19th, to numerous site visitors. The 34,000 square meters festival space is not compartmented, but totally free moving from the traditional market at one end to the home entertainment and award event stage at the various other. Between, days, farming, heritage and even environmental private and governmental companies are exhibiting their products, handicrafts, solutions and virtuosity. At the heart of it all, is the most effective Dates competitors sector, where, over the following 10 days, some 6,000 baskets of dates are anticipated to be evaluated for their preference, dimension, appearance, colour and, of course, health.

All of it started with Etheg and Dabbas, the first two days groups to contend. Behind closed doors, local farmers were bringing basket after basket of Dabbas days and trolley after trolley of fresh cut massive branches of days, referred to as Etheg in Arabic. While Dabbas - a little, moderate sweet range of days regular to Liwa oasis - champions will certainly be revealed today (July 20th), the top 15 Etheg winners were revealed by 8 pm on the first day of the festival. All 30 branches of dates sent to the Etheg competition were weighed and the heaviest of them all took house the desired title. It was a 106.5 kilos Etheg of Shahal dates that was crowned leading winner.

As in previous years, UAE's most popular varieties of dates will become part of the very best Dates competitors, including Khallas, Farth, Kunaizi, Bou Maan and Shishi. Additionally as in previous years, the days entries happen in one night, while the judging and awarding occurs the adhering to day. Farms from throughout the UAE could enter the competitors, although Liwa and Al Ain oases have the tendency to be leading.

Inning accordance with Mr. Obaid Khalfan Al Mazrouei, Director of Liwa Dates Festival, and Director of Planning and Projects Department at the Cultural Programmes and Heritage Festivals Committee - Abu Dhabi, which arranges the festival, a lot of the 233 prizes sharing a total of AED 5.2 millions, are for the very best Dates classifications of the competition, granting up to 15 of the most effective access in each classification.

" For many years we have actually noticed farmers made the required modifications to enhance their palm tree orchards, such as lowering plant foods, keeping the palm trees disease-free or changing to water efficient irrigation systems. Because of this, we transformed the scoring for the dates competition from 50% for the days quality and 50% for the ranch look to 70% for the dates top quality and 30% for the farm look," stated Mr. Mazrouei.

" We likewise have a competitors for the best ranch design east of Liwa City and the most effective ranch west of Liwa City, and this year we are just awarding new access, not previous champions, to urge more farmers to update their farms and adhere to much healthier agricultural practices," he included.

He further explained that day palm farming is still a financially rewarding business, specifically considering that day palm proprietors receive full support from the city government.

" Apart from the festival's prize awards farmers obtain assistance from the Abu Dhabi Farmers Solutions Centre, from Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, plus Al Foah Company, which is purchasing all the dates from farmers, not just from the victors, but all the farmers that want to offer".

Happening every July, Liwa Dates Festival marks the start of ratab (fifty percent ripped days) season in the UAE, a period that normally starts from Oman in June, proceeds in the Emirates and finishes in Saudi Arabia in late September, even October.

Mazeirah, currently called the Liwa City, is the primary town of the Liwa oasis, in the south-west of Abu Dhabi Emirate. Some 20,000 people reside in the 60 towns scattered along the 100 kilometers long crescent-shaped oasis, which is a gateway to Scrub Al Khali (the Empty Quarters) desert and the biggest sanctuary of its kind in the Arab Peninsula. It was for its diverse geographical and ecological features that Liwa was preferred to organize the ratab festival 12 years ago.

" July is the start of dates season in the UAE and the government is promoting not just the farming and business side of the ratab harvest, however also the heritage facet, which brings in tourism also," claimed Mr. Eissa Saif Al Mazrouei, Deputy Chairman of Cultural Programs & Heritage Festivals Committee - Abu Dhabi, and member of the Higher Organising Committee of the Liwa Dates Festival.

" We are trying to enhance the festival, enhance it from an ecological perspective, improve its family-friendly element - we have a place for children to play while parents can buy dates and other products - and tourist is now growing in Liwa. There are extra hotels, even more recreation, safari trips, which aid present Liwa to the general public, especially to visitors from the northern UAE, who don't typically pertained to Liwa," he included.

The festival is not just bringing tourism to Liwa and adds to the economic climate of Al Dhafra region, yet also maintains old Emirati traditions, passing them on the more youthful generations.

" Dates production and palm tree crafts have actually been a custom-made in Abu Dhabi and various other regions of the Emirates for centuries and with this festival we are likewise trying to instruct our young generations about the old customs, how to expand and protect the palm tree. It's not a simple work; you can't simply come and gather the fruit in the summertime, you need to care for the palm trees throughout the year, understand when and how you can prune them, how you can treat it for illness to get yummy, healthy dates."

For the very first time this year, seminars and workshops will be hosted during the Liwa Dates Festival, talking about modern, lasting farming approaches, implied to increase both top quality and return of ratab. The festival will proceed until July 29th, open up to the general public everyday from 4PM till 10PM.

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