In its meeting held remotely on Sunday, the Federal Cabinet approved a national system for sustainable agriculture and an additional AED320 million budget for national universities.

''Today I chaired a Cabinet meeting in which we approved a national system for sustainable agriculture, to improve the efficiency of our UAE farms, enhance our self-sufficiency in food, and create new opportunities to ensure the sector is always ranked among the best,'' said His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, as he chaired the Cabinet virtual meeting.

''We want to invest in new agricultural fields and mechanisms by harnessing advanced technologies and make proactive changes in agricultural and food systems,'' he added.

''We approved AED320 million in extra budgets for our national universities to improve their future performance. Normality will resume at our universities & schools. It's the government's job to create an ideal environment for students to return in the academic year 2020/2021,'' His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid tweeted.

The national system for sustainable agriculture seeks to increase self-sufficiency from targeted agricultural crops to 5 percent annually and average farm income to 10 percent annually. Socially, the system aims to raise workforce in the sector by 5 percent annually. Environmentally, it targets a 15 percent annual reduction in water used for irrigation of a production unit.