Farmer nominated for Middle East prize

KUWAIT: Middle East Agricultural Award for best innovation in Dubai selected Kuwaiti farmer Yousef Al-Kuraibani for the second consecutive year among best three nominees to win the prize. Kuraibani said yesterday that hundreds of companies, universities, research centers and agricultural organizations around the world are competing to win the prize, one of the top agricultural prizes in the region. The prize is not only restricted to the Middle East, but also allowed participation of companies and agricultural organizations around the world in case they possess branches in the Middle East like many American and European companies that have long expertise in this domain.

This resulted in raising the number of participants from various parts of the world and made the competition tougher.

After the referees’ committee evaluated hundreds of participants, Kuraibani was chosen as one of the best three nominees, as he took part individually and presented a comprehensive project of planting rare kinds of vegetables which he succeeded to plant for the first time in the Middle East region. His plantations include black tomatoes, white strawberries, and red corn besides many other rare kinds.

“I prefer to take part in this competition individually and to compete with international companies and organizations to prove the ability of young Kuwaiti youth,” Kuraibani said. The prize recognizes the prominent achievements of individuals, departments, teams, or organizations that contributed to the growth and development of agriculture, aquaculture and veterinary industry.

The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment approved the prize officially in 2017.