Dubai: The UAE government is keen to achieve and sustain the highest levels of national food security, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai said on Sunday.
“Food security is very important to ensure quality life for UAE society and is a fundamental requirement to achieve the UAE’s comprehensive and sustainable development”, said Shaikh Mohammad, while reviewing the results of the government accelerator team’s efforts to adopt Modern Agricultural Technology at Emirates Towers on Sunday.
We want the UAE to become a leader in food security by developing a sustainable and integrated food security system that employs future technology ...
Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Shaikh Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Shaikh Mansour Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, were also present.
“Achieving food security is an essential part of the UAE’s approach,” added Shaikh Mohammad.
“We want the UAE to become a leader in food security by developing a sustainable and integrated food security system that employs future technology to innovate solutions to the challenges of securing food sources. We do recognise that achieving food security for our society is the foundation of our comprehensive development journey.
“We want a better future for coming generations and everyone in the UAE should have safe and healthy food. We want to develop tools and solutions for the challenges of food security and innovate models and practical mechanisms to improve the agricultural production sectors in the country to provide sustainable and reliable resources.” While visiting the headquarters of the Government Accelerators Programme, Shaikh Mohammad was briefed on ten strategic initiatives developed by the government accelerator teams to adopt Modern Agricultural Technology.
Overseen by the UAE Office for Future Food Security, the initiative aims to develop effective and innovative solutions to raise the efficiency and competitiveness of national food production, providing channels of support to stakeholders in this sector, and attracting the necessary investments to establish sustainable agricultural projects that achieve food security for the UAE and support economic growth effectively.
Maryam Bint Mohammad Saeed Hareb Al Muhairi, Minister of State for Future Food Security said: “Benefiting from expertise and talents in developing a comprehensive vision for the future of food security in the country, providing an attractive environment for investors and improving local agricultural production both qualitatively and quantitatively are essential factors for self-sufficiency of food, which is one of the most important pillars of the national food security strategy.”
The Government Accelerator Programme for the Acceptance of Modern Agricultural Technology endorsed many initiatives to adopt modern technology for closed farming systems, and approved a unified guideline for specifications and standards of building modern agricultural facilities. It also approved standard procedures for the issuance of licences to build modern agriculture facilities and launched a Modern Integrated Agriculture Licence based on activities. It also issued a comprehensive framework for harnessing financial resources and financing systems of modern agriculture projects.
The programme also developed a package of legislation to develop the aquaculture sector in the country, and launched the first national sustainable agriculture brand.
