The Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA), the voice of the chemical industry in the Arabian Gulf, has announced the dates for its 11th Agri-nutrients Conference to be held virtually on September 15th and 16th, 2021 in Dubai.
The conference with the theme “Forging new avenues for a food secure future,” will have experts from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), the International Fertilizer Association, and key agri-nutrient producers in the GCC, including Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) in Saudi Arabia, Qatar Fertilizer Company (QAFCO) in Qatar, Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC) in Bahrain, and many more.
On the first day, Mr. Abdulrahman Al Suwaidi, CEO of QAFCO, Chairman of the GPCA Agri-nutrients Committee, and Member of the GPCA Board, will deliver the opening speech, and an FAO representative will deliver the first keynote speech on how to “strengthen the foundations of the global food security agenda in the aftermath of the pandemic.”
Dr. Abdulrahman Jawahery, President of the GPIC and Treasurer of the GPCA Board, will be joined by Mr. Esin Mete, Founder of MT Agri-Consulting, during a fireside chat, the newest feature of this year’s conference.
On the 16th of September, Mr. Samir Al Abdrabbuh, EVP of Agri-Nutrients at SABIC and Vice-Chairman of the GPCA Agri-nutrients Committee, will greet attendees, followed by Mr. Patrick Heffer, Deputy Director-General of the International Fertilizer Association, who will lead the keynote session, “How will advanced farming techniques help strengthen the GCC’s self-sufficiency agenda.”
The conference will highlight the importance of achieving global food security and the role of agri-nutrients in supporting food production during the pandemic, which threatens one in every nine-person around the world due to chronic malnutrition.
GCC continues to be an important international hub for agri-nutrient production and export, with the regional sector supporting the food supply of 5 percent of the world’s population, or 350 million people. This figure also stresses the importance of agri-nutrients to society, particularly because the world’s population is expected to reach nine billion by 2050.
According to the Global Food Security Index (GFSI), GCC states rank 31st in the world in terms of food affordability, availability, quality, and safety, but the region still imports 85 percent of its food.
To attain self-sufficiency, GCC countries will need to adopt more advanced technology and tactics to enhance domestic output, diversify their import sourcing partners, strengthen their supply chains, and build a robust and resilient ecosystem for food production.
