December 2021

The eleven-strong board will serve a three-year term and comprises renowned leaders, scientists and experts from governmental and non-governmental agencies, donor institutions, as well as research and development organizations from Australia, Brazil, China, Finland, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Togo, the UAE, and the USA.

Twenty-two participants from different institutions, including the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, Dubai Municipality, Sharjah Municipality, and Ras Al Khaimah Municipality attended a hands-on workshop on 7-8 December 2021 to learn how the mobile app can be used to collect data related to plant disorders.

Organized under the project titled “Developing a user-friendly mobile application for smallholder farmers to detect plant disorders”, the workshop was conducted by scientists from ICBA and the University of Barcelona, Spain.

The project currently targets farmers in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and the UAE. Later, the mobile app will be rolled out in other countries as well. It is also being customized for each country, and the final version will be available in three languages: Arabic, English, and French.

During his first visit to ICBA after assuming office as President of the IsDB and Group Chairman, H.E. Dr. Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser met Dr. Tarifa Alzaabi, Acting Director General of ICBA, as well as the center’s senior management, scientists, and specialists.

Following the meeting, H.E. Dr. Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser toured ICBA’s research and other facilities including the Emirates Soil Museum, Desert Life Science Lab, the genebank, the integrated aqua-agriculture system, and controlled environment agriculture systems.

As a symbol of the long-term strategic partnership between the IsDB and ICBA, H.E. Dr. Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser also planted a Ghaf tree.