Desert Fruit Namibia (DFN) has been awarded with a Khalifa award, namely the Award of Pioneering development and productive project by the Honourable Professor Ziad the Secretary General of the Khalifa Date Palm. This award, which DFN shares with SAHAM Agriculture of Morocco, recognises Desert Fruit Namibia for their invaluable contribution to the Date agricultural sector, with special emphasis on the high quality, tonnage and variety that Desert Fruit produces and the fact that all of this is achieved in the Southern Hemisphere.
According to H.H.Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Tolerance and President of the Award’s Board of Trustees, the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation has been established in recognition of the outstanding efforts and contributions made by both individuals and institutions in the field of agricultural innovation and date palm and to encourage and motivate them to exert further efforts towards upgrading the agricultural sector and date palm tree.
Managing Director of DFN, Seth Holmes was delighted and humbled by the award and enthused: “We are proud of work done by DFN and the recognition for the company and Namibia as a whole. This international reward highlights our efforts of planting, harvesting and exporting dates as well as the work we do in the community. Desert Fruit has also been recognised as a contributor to the local community and plays an active role in the community of Ariamsvlei, and the community of the farm, focusing on the health, safety and education of our people.”
“Desert Fruit Namibia is distinctly positioned to provide dates to the market in a unique window when the traditional northern Hemisphere producers are out of production. This factor together with our inclusive approach to our farming practices have pushed DFN in Agricultural Innovation, this has been recognised by the awards” were the sentiments of the DFN Technical Manager Charles Edmonds.
Desert Fruit harvests date from late January to the end of April providing a steady stream of fresh and naturally dried dates to the international market. Advances in Varietals which are only grown by a select few growers in the Southern Hemisphere add to the attraction of the DFN product.
