In a region that imports most of its food, Gulf policymakers are gearing up to increase domestic production as coronavirus continues to disrupt international supply lines.

According to a UAE representative for the UK department of investment and trade (DIT), the pandemic has “hastened” the country’s focus on agritech.

“Since the pandemic, we have been fine-tuning our food strategy as we go along, including buying up [foreign] arable land and improving domestic production,” Adil Khan told delegates at London Tech Week.

“The UAE has the money, the vision, and the need to ramp up its food security policy,” Khan said.

In a global first, the UAE government appointed a food security minister in 2017. Pictured below, Mariam Al-Mheri’s goal is to increase domestic food production by 30 per cent by 2021 and give the local processing industry, which produces six million tonnes of food annually, the ability to triple output if needed.

Khan, who was speaking on a panel addressed to British agritech firms, urged global governments to "work in partnership" to share their food ambitions and needs. “There is a big opportunity for agri-tech in the UAE market,” he said.

The Gulf region, hamstrung by its unfavourable climate, scarce water, and limited arable land, imports around 85 percent of total food consumed, according to Alpen Capital’s GCC Food Report 2019.

Supercharging domestic farming

Agritech – a catch-all term which covers improving the productivity and sustainability of agriculture, horticulture, aqua culture and forestry – could be key to supercharging the region’s domestic farming capabilities amid the pandemic and beyond, say experts.

According to Elizabeth Warham, head of the DIT agritech team, UK businesses are particularly keen to extend “world-class science knowledge and progressive food and farming supply chain learnings” to the Gulf region.

Lorna Berdunova, who was recently appointed to a new post as Agriculture, Food and Drink Counsellor – Gulf Region at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), said Britain would be approaching the UAE through joint government conversations.

“We will be looking closely at market access and trade barriers, plus areas related to the growing interest in food security and new food tech,” Berdunova said.

In the five months since the Middle East’s first Covid-19 case was reported, Abu Dhabi has made several investments aimed at improving food security.

ADQ, an Abu Dhabi investment holding company, bought a 50 per cent stake in one of the region’s biggest agribusinesses, Al Dahra — which specialises in the production of animal feed, flour, fruits and vegetables.

Investing in farming techniques

Another government body entity, the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, invested $100 million in four agritech companies to build facilities in the emirate, including indoor vertical farming firm AeroFarms.

Speaking on behalf of Kuwait, UK DIT officer Siraj Bhai said the emir state was moving rapidly towards investing in agritech. “Kuwait is investing heavily into controlled farming techniques, this has expedited by the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. “Many supermarkets are going into partnerships with controlled farming partners to secure supply chains.”

Bhai highlighted food storage solutions, food waste management, recycling, packaging, agri-scaling and water conservation as priority needs within the Kuwait food sector. “We need realistic solutions for arid farming and improving the supply chain,” he said.

Ellis Emwanta, a UK DIT representative for Saudi Arabia, said the kingdom is investing in agritech to produce food locally.

“As one of the driest countries in the world, there are great opportunities in Saudi Arabia for vertical farming, animal genetics and water management – any technology that manages these is in demand,” he said.

Saudi Arabian government-owned food company Salic in May acquired a 30 per cent stake in Indian group Daawat Foods, as part of its strategy to secure rice supplies.

Last year, the kingdom invested $9 million in British agritech firm Hummingbird Technologies, which uses drones and AI to produce high-resolution maps that can help farmers forecast crop stress and predict yields.