The United Arab Emirates recently announced deaths and serious side effects resulting from the consumption of the Iranian bottled water brand “Uranus Star”. Kuwait’s Public Authority for Food and Nutrition (PAFN) also issued a warning against consuming the product, citing dangerously high levels of contamination.
In a separate case, a European country previously suspended production at a facility belonging to a well-known European water company after discovering bacterial contamination linked to fecal matter. These are just the incidents that make headlines. What lies beneath the surface is likely far more concerning. It is important to take every possible precaution and ensure the safety and quality of the water, vegetables, and fruits we consume daily. If not, we risk paying a steep price with our health and money due to negligence.
Everyone concerned knows exactly where the problem lies. Some individuals willingly compromise their own health by choosing the lowest-quality fruits and food simply because they are cheap, despite being fully aware of the risks and having the financial means to afford better options.
This kind of miserliness mirrors the behavior of some government agencies, which, despite knowing that we have access to water suitable for irrigation and the ability to boost local production, fail to act. We also have arable land, the capacity to grow a wide variety of food products, and the financial resources to develop a robust, high-quality, and affordable food industry.
Furthermore, we possess advanced vertical farming technology that has already proven successful. Several agricultural companies in Kuwait, most notably Al-Hayat Company, have adopted this model and earned the prestigious GLOBALG.A.P. certification for the quality of their produce. These local companies have not only provided vegetables and fruits with exceptional taste, but have also protected consumers’ health from the serious risks posed by produce irrigated with sewage-contaminated water.
This is particularly evident with imported crops from so-called friendly and sister countries, where cultivation practices often lack proper oversight, especially regarding water quality, fertilizers, and the chemical agents used to manipulate the appearance and speed up the ripening of crops. Protecting consumer health simply requires one thing - making the right decision and enforcing it.
* * * In a ludicrous move, the Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) announced its intention to offer a subsidy of just KD 1.5 for each fruitful palm tree as part of an incentive initiative. This comes in response to a sharp decline in date production, with nearly 50 percent of palm trees reportedly infested by the red palm weevil. However, disbursing such a meager subsidy is likely to cost the government twice as much in administrative expenses, potentially prompting the formation of investigative committees to look into suspected manipulation or misuse of the payments.
What farmers truly need is not this paltry sum, which doesn’t even cover the cost of palm fertilizer. They need real support from PAAAFR in combating the red weevil. It is important to note that date cultivation is already costly, requiring intensive care, harvesting, cleaning, pressing, vacuum-sealing, packaging in cartons, and transportation to retail outlets.
Instead of disbursing a KD 1.5 subsidy, PAAAFR should raise its standards by encouraging committed farmers to grow fruits and vegetables using modern scientific methods, and by providing basic resources like water and electricity.
By Ahmad alsarraf email: [email protected]
