Ministry of Economy has unveiled seven key pillars of the strategic direction in achieving UAE’s commitment to transforming its food and agriculture sector to grow its contribution to GDP by $10 billion and create 20,000 jobs in the next five years.
Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri UAE Minister of Economy
“With a growing population, food security assuming the highest priority, the UAE is doing well on this front and was on the top of the global food security index 2022 compared to other MENA counterparts, but the challenges for food in these uncertain times are real and present. Thankfully, our food industry’s resilience and adaptability make it adept in addressing this challenge while constantly emphasizing sustainable practices, which will nurture our earth for centuries.”
The first pillar is localizing the next generation of agri-disruptors and growing them into global champions by nurturing local talents and innovation by identifying and supporting the next-generation solutions.
Second is making the UAE a global regulatory powerhouse ensures that our products are of higher standards and have international recognition.
The third involves promoting a UAE-first culture to foster the entire food value chain by prioritizing domestic production and reducing reliance on imports.
Meanwhile, the fourth pillar remains critical as it aims to provide sufficient funding to industry players.
The fifth pillar aims at fostering innovation with world-class R&D innovation, which is the cornerstone of progress.
Furthermore, the sixth pillar will focus on enabling players to diversify and access new markets by creating pathways for all agriculture players.
Finally, the seventh strategy aims to build the next generation of farmers, who are the future of agriculture and agri-tech.
Mr. Bin Touq expressed commitment to providing farmers with the knowledge, technology and resources they need to succeed through training programs, modernization efforts, and support systems to ensure that the agriculture workforce is prepared to address the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Closing the fifth Future Food Forum, Mr. Bin Touq, praised the country’s F&B sector initiatives in skill development and digital-infrastructure capabilities achieved through various programs to reshape how food is produced, distributed, and consumed in the region and globally. Mr. Bin Touq commended the UAE Food Platform’s ability to enable public-private collaboration in food security and optimizing the F&B ecosystem with digital infrastructures to drive the sector growth and attract investments and trade opportunities.
“Today, I stand before you to share a vision to propel our beloved country to new heights and ensure future food security. We are working on a strategy to transform our Food and Agriculture cluster into a global power, the essential pillars around this work, which I’m about to say represents our commitment to innovation sustainability and self-sufficiency and food production,” Mr. Bin Touq added.
