Welcoming Note Under the leadership of His Highness, The President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahayan, there are continual efforts to increase agricultural productivity, to make better use of available resources, and to produce an agricultural leap that is changing the face of the UAE’s desert. Indeed, His Highness, The President, attaches a great importance to agricultural development in general, and to date palm in particular. This special attention is clearly evident in the continued expansion in agricultural resources and investments, in the fast growth in the number of palm trees, in the continued increase in the size and variety of date projects, in the extensive use of modern technologies, and in the important initiatives undertaken in the areas of manufacturing and marketing of date fruits. The UAE Government, in the framework of its development plans, has placed the establishment of a date production industry one of its priorities. The Date Palm Project is one of several agricultural projects managed by the UAE University. The UAE University is proud to implement this important date palm project and is honored to contribute in achieving the Noble Goals of His Highness, The President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahayan. This project is implemented in cooperation with the UAE Country Office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). The DPTCL, founded in February 1989, belongs to the UAE – University and took several years to reach its technical establishment. A new and adequate facility was build in 1993. The DPTCL receives the continuous attention of H.E. Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Education and Chancellor of the UAE – University. The DPTCL is internationally recognized as one of the major commercial Date Palm Mass Propagation Unit, thanks to the wise leadership of Dr. Abdulla Al Khanbashi the Vice Chancellor of the UAE – University. It is with a great pleasure that you are welcomed in this web site of the “Date Palm Research and Development Project”. | 
