Date Farming in the UAE: Its Significance and History

Indulgent and luxurious, dates are a must-try food in Ras Al Khaimah. In fact, the fruit is so celebrated here that it is the official UAE national fruit. But, did you know that date farming often shuns modern agricultural methods in favor of traditional farming practices?

In the UAE, you can find exceptional dates that are produced via a labor love from dedicated farmers. There are over 150 varieties of date farmed here, each with its own distinctive appearance, flavor and texture.

Where Do Dates Come From?

Dates are a small fruit from the date palm tree, a species of tree that can reach 120 feet up into the sky. Dates are noted for their super-sweet flesh that surrounds a hard inner stone.

Dates are usually allowed to fully ripen on the tree. This maturing period maximizes their natural sweetness and gives them the softer, chewier texture that everyone loves. Young dates are yellow but as they ripen, their shades mellow into caramels, bronzes and coppers.

Some date varieties are slightly wrinkly, which makes them look like many dried fruits, but they are actually fresh fruits since they do not go through any additional dehydration process.

What Is So Special About Dates in the UAE?

Aside from their delicious taste, dates are popular because they are abundant here. Date palms love the heat and aridness of the desert, and date farmers do an incredible job knowing how to grow dates to produce a huge crop of delicious fruits.

Dates are healthy and nutritious, and provide an energy boost in compact form. They were a favorite with Bedouin people, a traveling desert community, who carried dates to sustain them on long journeys. Dates can also be used in dessert recipes, stuffed with nuts or candied peel, or made into sweet syrups.

Dates are part of the cultural history of Ras Al Khaimah and the UAE. They are entwined with celebrations of all kinds, including religious holidays, and are symbolic within Islam, representing sustenance and blessings. There are even references to dates in ancient religious texts like the Qu’ran and early Christian stories, and they are often honored in music and verse.

Three Types of UAE Date You Must Try

• Fard dates are particularly rich in flavor and glossy and smooth on the outside..
• Medjool dates are very well known and are exported internationally.
• Khidri are large, amber-colored dates reminiscent of raisins and caramel.

What Is the History of Dates in the UAE?

The date palm is an ancient species of plant. Fossilized remains of date trees have been found that show they were growing 50 million years ago.

The UAE nation was formed in 1971, but date farms have existed in this geographical area for several thousand years. Evidence of early date farms has been discovered across the Middle East, dating back around 4,000-5,000 years, including in Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

Cultivation of dates has continued ever since. Ancient Middle Eastern cultures are said to have called date palms the “trees of life”. Dates store well without refrigeration and so would have been available to eat all year round even long ago, just as they are now.

What Is Date Farming Like in the UAE?

Date palms are farmed in fertile oases around the UAE. Farming dates is labor-intensive and time-consuming. Many farmers still choose to use traditional methods to ensure their dates are the very finest quality.

Before they can fruit, young date palms need a lot of nurturing. Regular pruning, feeding, and protection from pests take the farmers’ time and effort. The trees are watered by an ancient communal irrigation system called “aflaj” that channels water from springs, often miles away, through an ingenious network that floods each date farmer’s plot.

Adult date palms are often pollinated by hand, which is a delicate process of cutting male flowers to take the pollen to the female flowers to ensure the trees bear fruit. As the fruits swell, the farmers must protect their dates with muslin bags to protect them from the birds and insects.

Once the fruit ripens and is ready for harvest, many farmers still choose to carefully reach the dates by ladder to pick the fruit bunch by bunch. It is common to see farmers dangling many feet off the ground, removing the dates with the traditional curved daggers. Once collected, the dates are then hand-sorted for quality control and then packed for storage.

Why Is Date Farming So Important in the UAE?

Date farming sustains the UAE people’s huge appetite for dates, but it also sustains a very important part of the country’s heritage and identity. Date farming is so important that several festivals in the UAE celebrate it each year, including the internationally known Liwa Date Festival.

Production figures show why date farming is important for the UAE. The nation is the world’s fourth largest producer of dates with around 750,000 tonnes produced annually. That’s around 14 percent of the world’s dates.

Shopping for Dates

At the height of date season in early June, buyers flock to farmers markets in the UAE to stock up on their favorite local produce while prices are at their lowest. Shoppers can browse a variety of date types and look for the varieties that suit their preferred taste. Locally produced dates sit side by side with imports from other Middle Eastern countries like Oman.

However, dates are widely available all year round in the UAE. You can find date outlets in major shopping malls in Ras Al Khaimah, like Manar Mall and Al Hamra Mall.

Be sure to taste as many varieties of this delicacy as possible when you visit Ras Al Khaimah.