'I bought cars': How UAE women farmers grew dates for over 50 years, got own income

UAE's women farmers have continued to pursue their passion for agriculture since Amna Khalifa Al Qemzi, the first Emirati female farmer. Many women in the UAE have actively engaged in farming and land development over the years.

The lands granted by the rulers of the UAE to support citizens, since the era of Sheikh Zayed, have been cultivated by numerous Emirati women. They have played a vital role in agricultural development while preserving UAE's heritage and contributing to the economy.

"I am a farmer, planting, plowing, and harvesting (dates)," said Emirati farmer Sariaa Al Muhairi (Um Saeed) to Khaleej Times during her participation in Dubai Dates. Um Saeed has nearly 52 years of experience in farming. Since she was young, she accompanied her father to their farm to help with the work.

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"When I was 10 years old, I lived with my father in Jumeirah, and he would take me with him to his palm farm." She learned not only palm farming at age 10 but also riding camels and driving cars. She explained that she used to do manual work with her father on the farm. This included tasks such as filling buckets with water from the well toirrigate the palm trees, cleaning the trees, arranging the offshoots, and planting them. "At that time, machines were not available, and we didn't have any workers. We did all the work ourselves," she said. 

Owning a farm

What started small grew inside Um Saeed; her love for farming and palm trees increased after she married at age 25 and moved to live with her husband in Liwa. 

"I wanted to own a farm for myself, so I bought a farm when I got married in Liwa. I bought an empty farm, just a piece of land, and started buying and planting palm trees. I used to plant 20 to 30 palms until the number grew," she added. Um Saeed currently owns more than 800 palm trees.

Um Saeed

"I worked on it myself with the help of workers for cleaning palms from insects, planting, and watering," she said, adding that she takes care of the farm all-year round. "I had no income before, but I earned a lot from the farm and spent it on my children. We lived well from the farm's yield, and I bought cars." 

Um Saeed, the mother of seven children and grandmother, owns a date and palm trading project. She participated in Dubai Dates with five types: Al Shishi, Khenaizi, Al-Ikhlas, Bumaan, and Al Dibs. She currently owns two farms in Dubai and Liwa.  

Date caring  

The love of palm trees and agriculture is inherent in the UAE. Even when Emirati women aren't farming, they leverage their expertise in other related endeavours.

Mariam (Um Ali) learned farming from her mother at the age of 12. "We would go clean the farms, harvest the dates, and prepare them. In the summer, we don't travel; we prepare the dates because it's the date season." 

Um Ali's work extends beyond her farm, which has around 300 palm trees. She has also begun preparing, cleaning, and packaging dates meticulously before selling them. Drawing on her extensive experience in the field, Um Ali carefully collects fresh dates from local farmers and trusted suppliers.

With careful attention to detail, she cleans each date, ensuring that every trace of dirt is thoroughly removed. Once clean, she sorts the dates into distinct categories based on their quality, distinguishing the finest, plump dates from those of lesser grade. The dates are then packaged in distinctive and attractive boxes. 

"The process usually takes about three months," she said. She explained that starting this work wasn't easy. It required a significant amount of effort and time, along with a great deal of responsibility.

Achieving a balance between work and family life is essential. "I begin my workday at 6am and continue until noon. After taking a three-hour break, I return to preparing dates from 3pm to 9pm." Because of her love for this profession, she never gets tired of it and prefers to spend the summer working on dates instead of traveling. "My family always supports me, and my daughters are interested in the process and help me. This motivates me to continue." 

With encouragement and support from her family, she has expanded her business by incorporating dates into sweets like rangina, basbousa, date cakes, and various other desserts. Um Ali expressed her optimism about the new generation, saying, "I see girls today interested in agriculture and date cultivation. I also see my daughters accompanying me to visit the palm trees and participate in the work." 

Um Ali's sweets

She emphasised the importance of fostering a love for palm trees and manual labor among the younger generation. She hopes that the UAE's agricultural heritage will be preserved and that future generations will continue to develop it.

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