UAE at 50: How the nation is advancing its food security agenda
UAE leverages cutting-edge farm tech to accelerate improvement in food security
The late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan had once said, “Give me agriculture and I will give you civilization.” Despite the scarcity of arable land, fresh water resources and harsh environmental conditions, the Founding Father of the UAE believed in the power of agriculture in stimulating economic prosperity and transforming the vast desert wilderness into a lush green haven.
Following the vision of Shaikh Zayed, in the years since the formation of the UAE, the nation has made all the right moves towards building a sustainable farming ecosystem and achieving food security.
In a recent initiative, Dubai has launched the futuristic Food Tech Valley earlier this year to triple the UAE’s food production.
”Food and water security are among the priorities of the UAE government for the post-coronavirus period, and the objective is to launch specialist initiatives that will ensure our readiness to confront all types of crises,” said His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, at the launch of the project.
The new initiative aims to create an integrated modern city that will serve as a hub for future clean tech-based food and agricultural products and an incubator for researchers, entrepreneurs, start-ups and industry experts.
Today, agriculture is regarded as a fundamental pillar of the UAE’s National Food Security Strategy. “Agriculture is a significant part of our journey towards building a sustainable economy,” said His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. “Innovation in this sector is key to our food security goals, and our country’s diversified economic growth”.
Improvement in food security
Despite its high reliance on imports, the UAE is still regarded as one of the food-secure nations in the world largely due to its ability to source food from international markets. The UAE jumped 10 places in the Global Food Security Index, moving from 31 in the rankings in 2018 to 21 in 2019. This achievement reflects the efforts of the government to establish the country as a world-leading hub in innovation-driven food security.
Enhancing long-term self-sufficiency through efficient domestic production has long been a key element of the UAE’s food security agenda. The UAE has implemented a unique approach to advance self-sufficiency. Along with strengthening global supply chains and collaborating with multiple countries to diversify supply sources, it is also stepping up its local agricultural production to reduce its reliance on imports. This strategy worked well during the pandemic — even amid supply chain disruptions, border closures and restrictions in delivery routes, the UAE managed to maintain a sustainable flow of essential items.
Drivers of growth
From government agencies to research organisations to local farms and F&B companies, the UAE is collectively working to find its own solutions to strengthen the agricultural value chains and produce food efficiently and sustainably — solutions that touch our daily lives and make a difference.
Last year, the UAE cabinet approved a national system for sustainable agriculture to improve the efficiency of farms, enhance its self-sufficiency in food and create new opportunities to ensure that the agriculture sector is always ranked among the best. The system is projected to increase self-sufficiency from the targeted agricultural crops by 5 per cent and increase the average farm income by 10 per cent annually.
Abu Dhabi has launched a new company, Silal, to diversify food sources and increase production of locally grown and manufactured food.
Buoyed by momentum from these initiatives as well as steady investments in research in new farm-tech solutions, the agricultural sector in the UAE has made rapid strides in the past few years. Now with the pandemic emphasising the importance of safeguarding food security across the world, there has been an increased interest in exploring opportunities to grow and buy locally and increasing self-sufficiency.
Farm-tech solutions
As traditional agricultural practices become largely unsustainable, local farms are increasingly turning to aquaponics, hydroponics and vertical farming solutions. However, experts say the sector needs to explore other innovative cultivation methods and grow alternative crops to support future growth.
Salicornia and other halophytes have great potential as alternative crops for food production in semi-arid and arid regions such as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) where farming faces constraints ranging from soil and water salinity to water scarcity.
Headquartered in Dubai, International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), which focuses on marginal environments, has grown salt-, heat- and drought-tolerant crops for food and feed, such as quinoa, amaranth, minor millets, pearl millet and halophytes like Salicornia.
Alternative crop cultivation
“Salicornia and other halophytes have great potential as alternative crops for food production in semi-arid and arid regions such as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) where farming faces constraints ranging from soil and water salinity to water scarcity,” says Dr Tarifa Alzaabi, Acting Director General of ICBA.
“However, a number of challenges should be addressed before such crops become widely produced and used. They include, among others, a lack of value chains and low or non-existent consumer awareness and demand. For this reason, ICBA has been focusing more and more efforts on developing value chains for Salicornia and quinoa in different countries, including Egypt, Morocco, and the UAE.”
Under a project titled From desert farm to fork: Value chain development for innovative halophyte-based food products, ICBA helped farmers in Abu Dhabi to grow Salicornia and fish using reject brine from desalination units.
Solutions for climate-smart agriculture
In yet another step to strengthen the UAE’s agriculture sector, Desert Control — with offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi — has through its soil recovery technology, Liquid Natural Clay (LNC), developed solutions to reverse desertification and create arable land in the desert.
Liquid Natural Clay (LNC) can further improve existing sandy soils, reducing the water usage for agriculture, forests, and green landscapes by up to 50 per cent while increasing crop yields.
“The solution can further improve existing sandy soils, reducing the water usage for agriculture, forests, and green landscapes by up to 50 per cent while increasing crop yields,” says Ole Kristian Sivertsen, Chief Executive Officer at Desert Control, which focuses on accelerating adoption of solutions to reduce water usage in established farms, irrigated forests, and green landscapes.
Desert Control has partnered with Mawarid and Barari in Abu Dhabi to accelerate initiatives to strengthen food security for the UAE, and to develop a framework for sustainable land management and climate-smart agriculture that can serve the wider Middle East and North Africa region.
Scientists have also been utilising the potential of genomic research to accelerate the discovery and development of crops suited to the UAE. ICBA recently opened a new advanced genomic research facility at its headquarters in Dubai.
“The aim is to further genomic research on healthier, more nutritious, and resilient crops for sustainable food systems. Dubbed as the Desert Life Science Laboratory (DLSL), it’s a joint venture between ICBA and BGI, the world’s largest genomic research institution,” says Dr Alzaabi.
Reasons to eat local
Demand for locally-produced food and beverages has risen, as the pandemic has made customers more health conscious. There has been a surge in the number of people turning to local produce, encouraging farms and local F&B businesses to invest in advanced tech to increase output and improve production processes.
The pandemic has opened our eyes, highlighting the importance of healthy lifestyle. Food choices have become the most important part of this change with an emphasis on locally produced food that do not contain additives or undergo preservation processes to increase shelf life.
“All businesses thrive on innovation and sustainability. In this rapidly transforming digital era we need to keep pace with the changes happening around us,” says Dr Suheel Ahmed, CEO — Holding, Arabian Farms, which produces more than 120 million SAHA fresh eggs and six million kilos of chicken per year at its facility in Dubai. “We have recently reinvested in our fully automated egg collection, grading, and packing systems, along with building a state-of-the-art chicken producing and processing facility with the latest technology.”
Consumers have begun to realise the role of healthy eating habits more than ever now. This has led to a significant shift in consumer preference towards local produce over the last 18 months.
To maximise the potential of the agricultural sector and support farms, retailers and distributors have ramped up efforts to promote local produce.
Barakat currently works in direct partnership with more than 50 local farms to deliver fresh produce from farm to fork within a few hours. “Barakat has also formed a supply agreement with Silal, Abu Dhabi’s new food and agritech company, to source the fresh produce from local growers in the UAE, catering to the diverse needs of consumers and hospitality, restaurant and other premium F&B customers,” says Rashid Alabbar, Barakat Board Member.
“Consumers have begun to realise the role of healthy eating habits more than ever now. This has led to a significant shift in consumer preference towards local produce over the last 18 months.”
Dr Ahmed agrees, “The pandemic has opened our eyes, highlighting the importance of healthy lifestyle. Food choices have become the most important part of this change with an emphasis on locally produced food that do not contain additives or undergo preservation processes to increase shelf life.”
As the UAE celebrates its 50th anniversary and looks ahead to achieve its Centennial 2071 goals, it’s fascinating to see how the foundation for the food secured nation, laid down by the late Sheikh Zayed, fuels further progress and prosperity in the agriculture sector. ■
Abu Dhabi start-up develops a sustainable technology to strengthen water security
In conversation with Saeed Alhassan Alkhazraji, Founder, Manhat
Where did the idea for Manhat come from?
The idea started from an observation; which at the beginning didn’t mean much. Most of us have noticed that when we leave a half-full bottle of water in our car or at home, water droplets form in the inner wall of the bottle. This phenomenon is not exactly new to humanity. But for me, it triggered a collection of memories and facts that allowed me to examine it in more detail. This examination led to the patents that we currently use.
Our technology can be one of the options for the future of water production in the UAE. Our approach allows us to produce water without the side effects of other existing technologies.
Your website states that Manhat makes water naturally – could you explain the process?
Water’s natural cycle starts with water evaporation from open water surfaces such as seas, gulfs, rivers, pools, ponds, etc. This evaporation is driven by solar radiation, which heats up the water, evaporates it, and forms clouds. We are using the same concept in our devices; hence, the motto “Make water, naturally.”
UAE’s biggest concern with regard to building a sustainable agricultural ecosystem and achieving water security is the lack of freshwater resources. How could Manhat solve this problem?
Our technology can be one of the options for the future of water production in the UAE. Our approach allows us to produce water without the side effects of other existing technologies.
At what stage is the start-up now?
We are at the seed stage as a start-up. We are developing a technology based on physical science research that requires a relatively long time to develop prototypes for customers. Nevertheless, our technology has a high ceiling and high potential as a sustainable water production method.
How do you plan to make the technology commercially accessible to people in the UAE?
Well, at this stage, the technology is more suitable for business rather than individuals. However, it is possible to provide these devices to individuals at a later stage. As for technology development, we are working on it to enhance different performance parameters.
— C.S