Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, affirmed
the UAE’s commitment to transforming its food and agriculture sector to grow
its contribution to GDP by US$10 billion and creating 20,000 jobs in the next five
years, as he unveiled the seven key pillars of the strategic direction in
achieving it.
The key strategies include localising innovation, fostering
a UAE-first culture and food supply chain, and providing farmers with the
necessary support and resources to make them a global leader in agri-food
innovation and sustainability.
Closing the fifth Future Food Forum on Thursday, Bin Touq
praised the country’s F&B sector initiatives in skill development and
digital-infrastructure capabilities achieved through various programmes to
reshape how food is produced, distributed, and consumed in the region and
globally. He commended the UAE Food Platform’s (launched during the Forum)
ability to enable public-private collaboration in food security and optimising
the F&B ecosystem with digital infrastructures to drive the sector growth
and attract investments and trade opportunities.
The two-day event, held on 20th-21st September at Le
Meridian Dubai Hotel, delved into the growing role of the food sector in UAE’s
economy and well-being and the industry’s future. Present for driving the UAE’s
economic development and industrial growth is promising and crucial to our
future. The UAE, today, is considered one of the most important hubs of global
food logistics. Everybody knows it’s the most accessible port for shipping
containers between the source and the destination, easing for food supply and
consumption. Food is also an important aspect of overall trade. Food products
trade amounted to AED 130 billion in 2022 alone compared to AED 105 billion in
2021, registering a growth of 24 percent in one year; food trading was 5.7
percent of the UAE non-oil trade.
Bin Touq said, “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 emphasising sustainable
practices, which will nurture our earth for centuries.”
“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,” he added.
He noted that the first pillar is localising 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 prioritising domestic production and
reducing reliance on imports. Meanwhile, the fourth pillar remains critical as
it aims to provide sufficient funding to industry players.
Bin Touq said, “Access to funding is why people grow,
industries evolve, and our strategy will look into securing funding and
support. This brings us to our fifth pillar of fostering innovation with
world-class R&D innovation, which is the cornerstone of progress. We will
provide world-class research and development packages to inspire change.”
Furthermore, the sixth pillar will focus on enabling players
to diversify and access new markets by creating pathways for all agriculture
players. Finally, the strategy aims to build the next generation of farmers,
who are the future of agriculture and agri-tech. Bin Touq expressed commitment
to providing farmers with the knowledge, technology and resources they need to
succeed through training programmes, modernisation efforts, and support systems
to ensure that the agriculture workforce is prepared to address the challenges
and opportunities ahead.