The Ruler of Sharjah inaugurates the Maliha Dairy Factory

Today, His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, inaugurated the Mleiha Dairy Factory, whose total capacity is estimated at about 600 tons, and its area is 20,000 square metres. His Highness also received the certificate of registration of the Mleiha Dairy Farm in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest “A2A2” cow farm in the world, in the Mleiha region.

His Highness was received by His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Dr. Salem bin Abdul Rahman Al Qasimi, Head of the Office of His Highness the Ruler, Sheikh Engineer Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Majid Al Qasimi, Director of the Department of Municipal Affairs, Minister of Federal National Council Affairs Abdul Rahman bin Mohammed Al Owais, and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of State for Government Development and the Future Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, and a number of senior officials, heads and directors of government agencies and representatives of partners.

His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah delivered a speech on this occasion, in which he indicated his happiness with the completion of the Mleiha Dairy Farm and Factory project with high quality and pure health specifications. It is a project that was a dream of His Highness for 65 years. During these years, His Highness worked to care for society and improve its sons and daughters. During these years, he lived through three generations, and this dream came true with the fourth generation and with the participation of the educated and empowered people of Sharjah, who adhere to values ​​and principles and are responsible.

His Highness discussed the various food security projects in Sharjah, which are progressing in full swing, pointing out the multiple methods of developing the region in terms of the various farms and factories accompanying the farms, and offering university educational programs in the colleges of agriculture, veterinary and desert sciences at the University of Dhaid, which will produce cadres to work in food security projects in the region.

His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah stressed the importance of returning to the principles in everything, explaining that Sharjah focuses on the desert because it represents the origin of the people of the region, and from it comes food, which includes poultry, cows, and goats, in addition to agricultural production from indigenous seeds and other products.

His Highness gave a number of examples in which humans intervened to change the breeds of trees or animals and introduce chemical processes, and their products became harmful and not beneficial compared to what was mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, which showed the best ways to produce products that benefit human health in general. His Highness indicated that the cows on the Mleiha farm are of a rare and original breed, “A2A2”, and therefore their milk has distinct characteristics, including 20 healthy characteristics, as well as their food and treatment made of healthy and natural materials.

His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah discussed other projects that come within healthy food in the emirate, which is the process of planting olive trees that takes place on Mount Dim, where 3,800 trees have been planted, and these days 1,200 trees are being planted, and every year 1,500 new olive trees will be added, in order to provide olive oil, and it is expected to open a special factory to produce the best types of olives for human health during the coming period.

His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah discussed the Fly Birds Project, pointing out that the poultry in it are also of a special breed, which is a field type that is raised in open fields and receives everything natural from food and medicine. It also takes three months for them to grow until they reach the production stage, and His Highness said: “We do not want profit, but rather we want health for the people, and we will have achieved a lot for our country, if we achieve self-sufficiency and the production of healthy food.”

His Highness pointed out that the vegetable production project also features strains of indigenous plants, as cooperation has taken place with some farms in Germany, which are working on the same project through cultivation with pure, original seeds, and therefore their production is distinct in terms of taste, smell, and nutritional and health benefits.

His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah stressed that the basis for agricultural operations is precise management of the agricultural process and continuous follow-up and observation by specialists, relying on digital devices that monitor the degree of humidity and irrigation with water, which makes production according to the highest specifications, as is the case with Sharjah wheat, which was named seven ears because one grain of it produces seven ears.

His Highness pointed out that a person’s life must be based on following the path that God Almighty has directed, because it brings success and prosperity. His Highness said: “I hope that the path we have taken, thanks to God, that we will apply it to all actions in our lives, and here in Sharjah we are primarily committed to our religion and our Arabism, and we are committed to our customs and traditions.”

Upon his arrival, His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah toured the Mleiha Dairy Farm, where His Highness cut the traditional ribbon marking the opening of the Mleiha Dairy Factory. His Highness also inaugurated the factory’s operational operations by moving the operating lever. His Highness then toured the visitor center with the attendees, listening to a detailed explanation about the distribution of the factory areas and the modern devices, equipment and systems used in production processes and their role in ensuring the quality of the products.

His Highness was briefed on the processing area, which is the heart of the factory, and learned about its most prominent operations, in addition to the central control room in which the entire production process is monitored and controlled, through devices linked to a unified system that is considered one of the latest technologies used in the dairy factory sector in the world.

His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah stopped in the packaging area and looked at the production and packaging line for fresh milk and yoghurt, in two production lines, one for 1 liter containers and the other for 200 ml containers, with the capacity of the two lines to produce 4,500 containers per hour. His Highness also saw the area for packing dairy products of labneh and yogurt, which are currently produced in sizes of 170 grams and 1 kilogram of yogurt, and sizes of 400 grams and 250 grams of labneh.

His Highness viewed the new packaging for fresh milk and yogurt products, which are distinguished by their quality and environmental friendliness according to the best international standards, in a step that confirms the work to ensure that all Mleiha Dairy Factory products and operations are environmentally friendly, preserve human health, and do not harm nature.

After that, His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah moved to the circular parlor building, and His Highness kindly rang the bell to mark its official opening. His Highness watched the movement of cows entering the platforms and the process of washing and sterilizing before milking, arriving at the milking stage, which takes 7 minutes. His Highness learned about the specifications of the parlor, which includes 80 platforms, for milking 500 cows per hour, and the daily production of fresh milk reaches approximately 100 thousand liters per day, and the number of Cows are milked 3 times a day.

His Highness also toured the Mleiha dairy farm, seeing a machine for harvesting and cutting silage fodder that can harvest 80 hectares per day, in addition to a plastic packaging press for storing the silage in circular bales to complete the process of fermenting and aging the silage in ideal conditions, and produces 50 tons per hour of organic fodder that the cows are fed with.

During the tour, His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah visited the cow barn area, where His Highness was briefed on the specifications of the modern barns, the design of which took into account the provision of an integrated and healthy environment for the cows, ensuring their safety and comfort and increasing production efficiency. His Highness listened to an explanation about the mechanism for organizing the barns and classifying cows according to age groups, in addition to the systems used in nutrition, veterinary care and hygiene, and the equipment they contain that contribute to improving the quality of production and enhancing sustainability in the livestock sector.

During the tour, His Highness also learned about the farm’s future expansion plans, which include a group of facilities that integrate with food security projects in the region and contribute to enhancing production and the quality of operational processes.

His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah moved to the ceremony area, which began with two visual presentations. The first dealt with the story of Maliha, whose products represent purity in the idea and in the commandment for healthy food, and in the profound message, which is the story of a place that began with a dream and a commandment and turned into a factory. While the second presentation presented a documentary film about the Sharjah Agricultural and Animal Production Foundation “IKTIFA” and its various projects in food security and concern for human health through returning to nature and its development.

Dr. Khalifa Musabah Al Tunaiji, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Livestock, and CEO of the Sharjah Agricultural and Livestock Production Foundation “IKTIFA,” delivered a speech in which he stressed that the Foundation did not come to keep up with the markets, but rather to promote morality and restore food to its sanctity in a time of consumption and confusion.

Al-Taniji cited a story that occurred in the “Kosroe Anushirwan” council, when Kosroe asked a doctor about how to maintain one’s health if illness strikes? He said that treatment should begin with food, and if food does not help, then with a single medicine, and if it does not work, then with a combined medicine. Then he added, “The stomach is the house of disease, and diet is the head of medicine,” stressing that modern medicine has returned to the theory of the gut-brain axis, which confirms that the intestine is the “second brain” of man, and that the food that enters it is what determines the clarity of the mind and the drive of thought.

The CEO of “Iktfa” confirmed that commercial greed has made food a soulless commodity, and merely numbers in profit equations. He pointed out that some promote organic food as a luxury that is not enough for mouths, and that genetic modification and accelerated industrial production are the inevitable fate. He explained that in the “Iktifa” Foundation, thanks to the vision of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, it places human dignity above the calculations of numbers, and is not the fastest in production, but rather the most honest approach.

Al Taniji discussed food security projects in the emirate, such as the “Seven Ears” wheat farm, “Gharas” seeds, Maliha dairy, “Fly” birds, and the Al Faya honey factory, which provide a model of a compassionate, circular economy that respects the laws of the Creator in reviving and developing the land.

At the conclusion of his speech, the CEO of “Iktifa” extended his sincere thanks to His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah for his support and sponsorship of food security projects in the emirate for half a century, until Sharjah became a beacon to be visited thanks to the leading thought and pioneering approach that made society not be satisfied with anything except the best in quality, not the abundance of goods, appreciating the efforts of the project workers who worked with dedication and sincerity, and provided exceptional performance, and their dedication had the greatest impact on Transforming the vision into a tangible reality, praising the role of government departments and agencies and all those who contributed to this achievement.

Then His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah and the audience watched a presentation about the Mleiha Dairy Farm, and how the desert land was transformed into farms, factories and a full life. The presentation also presented information and statistics about the farm’s advanced and broad capabilities, and the integrated smart care it provides for cows, which includes all care, treatment and production processes, including automated sterilization, digital monitoring, and pastures irrigated with solar energy, all of which are environmentally friendly.

At the conclusion of the opening ceremony, His Highness honored a number of federal and local authorities and partners from the private sector from inside and outside the country. His Highness thanked and appreciated them for their great cooperation and support for food security projects in the emirate, wishing them success and continued cooperation in the interest of the United Arab Emirates and society.

His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah received a certificate from the Guinness Book of World Records for the Mleiha Dairy Farm as the largest “A2A2” cow farm in the world, with the number of cows exceeding 6,400 cows. His Highness also received a commemorative shield from the Dutch Holstein Breeders Association in appreciation and gratitude for His Highness’s efforts in preserving rare cow breeds around the world.

On the sidelines of the opening ceremony, His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah reviewed the most prominent partnerships held by “IKTVA” to develop innovative sustainability solutions for Mleiha dairy product packaging, which includes mechanisms for collecting container waste and recycling it in accordance with the best environmental practices. His Highness learned about the stages of treating this waste and converting it into other usable products, which contributes to reducing the environmental impact, supporting environmental sustainability, and making optimal use of available resources.

His Highness met with a number of small business owners in the hospitality sector who used Iktifa products in their projects, listening to their experiences in benefiting from these products and their role in supporting the quality of their services. He informed His Highness of the future expansion plans for their projects and their aspirations for growth and development, stressing the importance of supporting entrepreneurs and empowering national projects.