Manama, Bahrain – 12 February 2018
Under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain, and with continued support from Her Royal Highness Princess SabeekaBint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Wife of His Majesty the King and president of the consultative council for the National Initiative for Agricultural Development (NIAD), the official inauguration of the Bahrain International Garden Show will take place on February 21, and will be open to the public from 22-25 February at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre (BIECC).
At the press conference, held by NIAD this morning at BIECC, Her Excellency Shaikha Maram Bint Isa Al Khalifa, Secretary General of NIAD, said that the Bahrain International Garden Show continues to showcase a wide range of agricultural services and technologies that play a major role in the development and sustainability of the agricultural sector in the Kingdom, along with a wide range of products, solutions and innovations displayed by local and foreign companies that participate at this event.
She also said, “This year’s show will focus on good agricultural practices and standards that ensure safety and security of food and agricultural workers, based on international standards. To achieve this, the theme ‘Food Safety and Human Health’ was chosen for this year’s edition where a full display will be dedicated to pre and post-harvest procedures which affect the quality of agricultural products, as well as good agricultural practices (GAP), which are vital to ensure food safety and environmental sustainability. ”
In the same pavilion, there will be two areas allocated to official bodies that monitor food safety in Bahrain: the Food Safety and Quality Control Unit under the Agriculture and Marine Resources Authority, and the Food Control and Food Analysis Laboratory section of the Ministry of Health’s Public Health Directorate. Visitors can learn about the services of both entities with regard to ensuring safety and quality of agricultural products as well as the laboratory tests they conduct to ensure safety of local and imported food. In addition, a number of experts and inspectors will be available to answer any questions and queries from the audience throughout the event, to raise awareness on issues related to food safety. There will also be printed educational material available for the public about food safety issues. In addition, the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority will participate at the show to present their efforts in ensuring food safety in the United Arab Emirates.
Throughout the three days of the show, NIAD will organize workshops on the quality and taste of food to ensure human health and safety. The workshops will be conducted in collaboration with four Greek companies, specialized in producing organic food. The participating companies are: Terra Creta, specialized in producing organic olive oil, Stathakis company, specialized in producing premium quality natural honey, Tofillocompany, specialized in producing natural herbs, and Avoelcompany, specialized in avocado based products. The workshops aim at introducing participants – cooks and food distributors – with a variety of organic and natural products to form new partnerships between Bahrain and Greece.
It’s expected that more than 155 exhibitors will showcase their designs, products, technologies, and innovations over an area of 7000 square meters.
The Market Zone (Hall No. 1) will include several agricultural companies and nurseries to market various products such as flowers, seedlings, agricultural tools, pots, garden furniture, lighting equipment and all relevant agricultural products and services.
Hall No. 2, the Awareness Zone, will include official and educational institutions as well as civil society organizations, who will contribute to raising awareness about agricultural issues and promote agriculture related educational programs and projects to the public.
This year’s exhibition will feature a large number of agricultural companies from all around the world such as France, Italy, the Netherlands, Greece, the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, India, China, Indonesia, Turkey and Mali. Regional and Arab countries such as the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Morocco, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and the Syrian Arab Republic, will enrich their pavilions with the latest innovations, designs and agricultural technologies and applications, and showcase their successful experiences in this field.
The exhibition will feature 14 Bahraini farmers, selected by draw lot, to showcase their local products in order to encourage farmers, support the local produce and create different marketing outlets for them.
The ‘Khlasi Garden’ pavilion will also be at the show this year. It will include many activities, from recreational games to educational workshops about food safety, to raise children’s awareness on healthy and safe food and create a healthy generation, physically and intellectually.
Engineer Zahra Abdulmalik, president of the Bahrain Garden Club, spoke at the press conference about the organization of the annual Flower and Vegetable competitions, including home and school gardens;various categories for flower arrangements; the open competition for locally grown flowers, vegetables and experimental plants; and the photography competition. She also presented the agricultural consultants who will be present at the show to conduct workshops and answer questions for the visitors.
Mrs Abdulmalik also explained that the Bahrain Garden Club’s pavilion will host, in collaboration with NIAD, the British landscape expert, DavidHarber, and the natural color dyeing expert, AbubakarFofana.
SheikhaMaram thanked the Bahrain World Trade Center (BWTC), Al Salam Bank, KFH, Viva Bahrain, Bahrain Aluminium Company (Alba), Bahrain National Gas Company (BNAGAS), Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC) and Mumtalakat Holding Company for supporting the show. She emphasized that this support is greatly appreciated and is vital for the continuity of the show in the future.
“We look forward to welcoming the public to the Bahrain International Garden Show to benefit from the knowledge, experiences, educational, economic and commercial initiatives that contribute to the improvement and sustainability of agriculture in the Kingdom of Bahrain”, Shaikha Maram said.
