Man has concerned himself with food security since the dawn of time. In its most basic sense, food security is the secure access to sufficient nutritious food supplies to a given population at any given time. Particularly, food security is based on 4 key pillars: availability, accessibility, utility, and sustainability.
According to the latest Global Food Security Index (GFSI) report, which considers the availability, affordability, quality, and safety of food supplies, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are amongst the highest food-secure countries in the region. Yet Gulf states remain highly dependent on food imports: about 85% of their food is imported, about 85% of their food, with rice imports comprising virtually all consumption, around 93% of cereals, and approximately 62% of meat and 56% of vegetables.
Thus, any disruption in food supply chain, such as a pandemic or a geopolitical crisis, leaves a country vulnerable to shortages. The impact on the GCC countries as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic or the Russo-Ukrainian war has been minimal.
GCC in Evolution
Located in one of the driest regions in the world, food production in the GCC countries has been modest at best, chiefly relying on fishing, dates farming and small crops. Hot, dry climate most part of the year, married with vast, barren deserts covering the entire terrain of the Arabian Peninsula make conditions for agriculture virtually impossible.
Studies show that only 19.5% of the total Arabian Peninsula where the GCC countries are located is mixed land (that is, arable and pastoral); whereas less than 1% is arable – a diminutive fraction of the global average of 10.6%.
The 1970s was a decade that highlighted the strategic importance of food security for the Gulf states. As tensions during the ‘first oil shock’ heightened, the US threatened to impose food sanctions on OPEC state members, including the GCC states, in response to oil embargo. The prospects of a food crisis was too tremendous a risk: the Gulf Arab states began developing a wholistic strategy to subsidise food production and offer higher incentives for increasing food supplies.
Supply Chain
Capital often comes with security. The oil-rich Gulf states have access to readily available hard currency that can secure food supplies when needed. Their financial stability has shielded them against turbulent global crises and enabled them to fill the gap in local production. Hence, in 2018 the GCC countries were lists the most food-secure counties in the Arab World, and amongst the top countries globally.
Innovation
The Gulf state countries are not immune to food risk in the long term, however. There’s a pressing need to develop more comprehensive and sustainable strategies that consider economic, social, cultural, ecological, and political factors. An eclectic rather than a unidimensional approach would be much more effective in the long run to achieve a food security across all vectors (availability, accessibility, utility, sustainability).
Since the global 2007-2008 food crises, food security became a global concern. The ensuing disruption in food supplies highlighted the GCC states’ high dependence on imported goods, which pose a risk to their food security strategy. While increasing locally grown produce is the best solution it remains practically impossible given the nature of the regional terrain: hostile climate, poor soil, and water scarcity. And though money might not be an issue, availability might: the scarcity of resources would make it challenging for importing countries to source adequate food supplies. This situation has been termed availability risk.
Therefore, the GCC countries must look at innovative solutions that enable the desert-laden countries to work around their unhospitable climate conditions. They need to develop long-term investment strategies into advancing entrepreneurial ecosystems that support the growth of innovative agriculture in the region. By nurturing a high-growth sector the GCC countries would accelerate locally grown produce that feed into the wider sustainability of the economy and the environment.
Risk Mitigation
The GCC countries are ramping up their food security preparedness in the upshot of Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukrainian war. A recent report published by Oxford Business Group and the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD) highlighted innovations fast emerging in the region. The report outlined in detail the main risks facing the region in the medium and long terms, including water scarcity, low soil fertility, and possible disruptions in supply chain.
The Gulf Arab states have invested in key solutions to mitigate such risks. Desalination, for instance, is a key technology that has received investment and has attracted global businesses interested in sustainable water solutions.
Dealing with supply chain disruptions, the Gulf states have developed a range of strategies to mitigate any risks associated with global crises. They have set aside funds, credit lines, and other incentives, as well as subsidising vital infrastructure, and processing, packaging, and distribution chains. These measures have prevented serious disruptions to GCC food supplies through most recent crises. By comparison, countries like Indonesia and Philippines have had to ration purchases of staple foods to prevent stockpiling and panic buying.
Future Priorities
The strategies implemented by the GCC states have borne fruit – for the short term. A wider and more comprehensive approach will need to be implemented to tackle more long term and higher risk disruptions, which can be outlined as follows:
1. Supporting locally grown produce:
Adapting innovative practices and technologies to the region may accelerate regional agriculture. These may include genetically modified crops, desert farming, farming using sea water, urban farming, and micro farming utilising big data and artificial intelligence.
Similarly, reinforcing supply chain would mitigate any future risks to food supplies. The GCC countries also are leveraging online technologies to ensure weaknesses in supply chain are discovered early on and food waste is minimised.
2. Stabilising imports:
The Gulf states are able to open new import channels to capture vital supplies to agriculture supply chain. Also, simplifying and streamlining the customs processes would remove unnecessary disruptions to the chain.
Several developing countries have begun paying more attention to agriculture technologies, such as Indonesia, Mexico, South Korea, and Tunisia. Some have established a semi-government, publicly traded enterprises that lead the sector. In the medium term, such set up would provide encouragement for small farmers to adopt innovative technologies to improve their productivity. Also, utilising latest technologies in desalination, desert farming, and next generation soil-less farming are key to rapidly growing sector that attract foreign investment. As they prepare for future challenges, they could invest in several avenues to achieve food security in the long run: reinforce their supply chain strategy; develop modern infrastructure; streamline customs processes; and incorporate contract farming as part of their strategy, by investing in farmlands in Africa such as Sudan.
