The UAE has made significant progress in the field of agricultural technology. With the guidance of visionary leaders and the impetus of ambitious initiatives and strategies, the country has expedited the launch of innovative technologies and applications, which hold the potential to strengthen its economy and enhance its food security, particularly in the face of ongoing global challenges.
In 2017, Her Excellency Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri was appointed Minister of State for Food Security. The following year the UAE launched its National Strategy for Food Security, addressing one of its most important goals to top the World Food Security Index by 2051. Indeed within a few years, the UAE began reaping the fruits of its strategy.
Diversifying Agriculture
More than three-quarters of the total area of the UAE comprises desert climate, and the country ranks second on the water stress index, just after Kuwait, with a rate of 1667%. This means that the nation needs more than 16 times its available renewable freshwater resources to meet its needs.
As a result, the UAE has focused on diversifying its farming methods to reduce its reliance on water and fertile soil. Impressively, the country has managed to increase the added value of its agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors from USD 2.6 billion in 2014 to USD 3.1 billion in 2019. This is higher than the value of the contribution of the same sectors in water-rich nations such as Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, and Costa Rica, according to the FAO.
Utilising Technology
The UAE is heavily utilising cutting-edge technology to support its agriculture. Nevertheless, it also seeks to provide the right environment for the balanced use of technology in all food security sub-indicators: abundance, availability, quality, safety, sustainability, and adaptation.
The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment has supported the use of hydro-technology for farmers. This technology enables the use of nutrient-rich water needed for plants to grow in minimal amounts of soil or even without. This method saves between 70% and 90% of water and about 99% of the land area required for agriculture. The cost of this technology is comparable to that of standard agriculture methods in water-rich nations. Moreover, "vertical farms" are fully automated fields that offer agricultural crops at fixed costs over the seasons. Against this background, Her Excellency Minister Mariam Almheiri inaugurated on February 15th the world's largest indoor vertical agriculture farm in Abu Dhabi.
The UAE has sought to diversify by looking at alternative forms such as saline agriculture. The International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) has grown a number of crops using salt water, such as "salicornia," "sea beans," and the "quinoa" plant, which, although it may lack popularity in the Gulf region, they could be exported for profit. This method enables the reclamation of degraded agricultural land through the cultivation of particular crops and plant breeds that can tolerate salt or semi-salt water, which in turn reduces the use of fresh water and improves the soil itself.
In terms of water diversity, the UAE ranks second in water desalination, operating seawater desalination plants with a total capacity of about 1.6 million gallons per day in 2022. And by 2025, the total capacity will reach 2.2 million gallons per day. The Water Security Strategy 2036 aims to reduce the total water demand in the country by 21% while increasing water productivity and recycling by 95%, utilising state-of-the-art water recycling technologies.
Improving its production chains, product quality, and reducing waste, the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority has been marketing local produce under its own brand and therefore acting as an intermediary between hundreds of farmers and wholesalers. The Authority has developed an electronic application to train farmers on best practices, providing users with the latest technical information on non-commercial farming. The Authority also has launched a livestock genetic identification project aimed at identifying the most suitable breeds for the UAE climate in order to achieve the highest productivity for farmers and has issued a new genome sequence for date palm to help develop new and improved types of dates. The Authority is also working to promote improved post-harvest technologies to reduce crop loss.
Supporting Innovation
The UAE is carrying out many activities to attract modern technology in the fields of water saving and agricultural development. For instance, Abu Dhabi hosted in 2019 the Global Forum on Agricultural Research and Innovation, the world's largest exhibition of innovation in agricultural technology. Also, in mid-February 2023, AeroFarms, a company specializing in indoor vertical agriculture, hosted the second annual AgTech Innovation Summit in Abu Dhabi, where more than 24 speakers and 1,000 delegates from 65 countries participated and discussed the future of agriculture and food security. AeroFarms, during the summit, signed two memorandums of understanding with New York University Abu Dhabi and ICBA.
The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority was established in 2019 to ensure the sustainability and development of the agriculture sector and to support local farmers in the use of new technologies, methodologies, and practices. The Authority also provides technical training and advice and finances industry innovation. In 2019, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi offered more than AED 5.6 billion worth of funding innovations that are addressing water scarcity. The Emirate has also provided AED 1 billion to local and international agricultural technology companies to establish a presence in Abu Dhabi.
In 2022, the country's Ministry of Climate Change and Environment set new requirements and criteria for joining the "Farmer Support" program. The new rules aim to encourage modern practices such as aquatic, organic, and protected agriculture, which in turn promote sustainable local production and help farmers to overcome new challenges. For the program to be successful, customers need to accept the Authority's role as a promoter and a technical supervisor of the production process. This way, farmers can receive needed production material at half-price and can benefit from agriculture loan insurances and improved supply chains.
In August 2022, the Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with Emirates Development Bank, in an aim to establish innovative financing solutions to entrepreneurs utilising new technologies and sustainable systems.
Leading the Region
The UAE's main goal remains to ensure food security for its citizens and residents. The country's high adoption of new technology and its commitment to freedom of trade has allowed it to maintain an average dietary energy supply adequacy rate of 133% compared to a global average of 124%, according to estimates by the FAO. The rate increase in food commodity prices also remained below the global average: food prices in the UAE fell by 1.4 percentage points in 2019 before rising by 3.7 percentage points in 2020, while global prices recorded an increase of 4.4 points and 6.3 points consecutively.
The UAE topped the Middle East and North Africa on the Global Food Security Index 2022, according to the Economist's Impact indicator. Globally, the UAE ranked 23rd out of 113 countries on the food security index, rising 12 places from 2021. The country ranks 7th in the food availability sub-index and 16th in food safety and quality and has achieved an overall 75.2/100 on the food security index, compared to 71 points in 2021.
We may summarize that the UAE is taking advantage of cutting-edge technology and is aiming to be among the top nations in terms of food security. It has signed agreements to exchange experiences and localize technology with the world's leading countries in the field of agricultural technology, including Finland, a leader in the general food security index; Australia, a leader in providing cost-effective food; Japan, the best in providing food in large quantities; and Canada, the best in terms of food quality and safety. Finally, we propose establishing knowledge exchange programs with Norway, a pioneer in terms of sustainability and adaptation, which would enable the UAE to increase the security of its food sector against external global shocks.
