Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) launched the 2026–2027 cycle of the Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Agricultural Excellence Award at a press conference on 15 September. The fifth cycle allocates approximately AED10 million in prizes across 13 main categories. Two categories are new: Best Supporting Marketing Outlet and Agricultural Impact Maker. The organisers invited farmers, livestock breeders and commercial farms to take part. Registration opened on 15 September and runs until 15 December 2026.

The award is accompanied by 97 competitions, up from 77 in the fourth cycle, a 26 per cent increase. These events will be held within five festivals at the Sheikh Zayed Festival site in Al Wathba: plant, livestock, food, flower and honey. The accompanying programme includes livestock contests, seven plant competitions, 14 food competitions, 10 honey competitions and nine flower competitions. ADAFSA presents the pavilion as a place to showcase local produce and bring the public into contact with agricultural and food activities.

ADAFSA says the fifth cycle places greater emphasis on sustainability-linked measures across plant and animal production. The indicators named include natural-resource efficiency, water footprint, economic return, innovation and digital transformation. Evaluation criteria will also cover sustainability, production efficiency, agricultural good practice and innovation in modern technologies. The authority says the revised method is intended to assess efficiency and encourage innovation among farmers and livestock breeders. The announcement describes the award’s criteria; it does not report measured changes in water use or output from this cycle.

Participation criteria have been refined for different groups, including farmers, livestock breeders, youth-led projects and women farmers and breeders. The two new categories are presented as part of efforts to recognise the role of communities and private businesses in food security. For comparison, the authority reported more than 3,395 entries in accompanying competitions during the fourth cycle and over 159,000 visitors to the award pavilion at the festival. Those figures describe the previous cycle; no participation or visitor target for 2026–2027 was announced.

After registration closes, festivals and accompanying contests will begin, followed by desk-based review of submissions and field assessments of shortlisted farms and ranches. Specialist committees with expertise in plant and animal agriculture and agricultural innovation will assess applicants against technical criteria. Final results are to be approved after the field evaluations, with an official closing ceremony scheduled for March 2027. Across the award’s four earlier cycles, the main categories recorded 1,603 participants and 196 winners. The fifth cycle continues that programme with revised measures and a larger accompanying contest calendar.