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Food security

Over 400 global food brands are taking part in the SaudiFood Manufacturing show in Riyadh this month

Saudi Arabia’s food factory count rises to 1,300

The total number of food factories operated by the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (Modon) has reached 1,300, across 36 cities. The increase signifies the growing capacity of the domestic food industry and its localisation efforts, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported. Food industry companies have recorded a growth rate of more […]

farmoing robotics UAE

Agricultural robotics centre planned for the UAE

Khalifa University of Science and Technology and agri-food giant Silal plan to create a centre of excellence for farming robotics in the UAE. The proposed research centre, to be located at Silal’s Innovation Oasis site in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, will feature a dedicated autonomous greenhouse equipped with various robotic platforms, sensors and Internet of […]

Beekeepers in Jizan province, Addarb, Saudi Arabia. The industry has set a production target of 7,500 tonnes of honey per year by 2026

Saudi Arabia aims to double local honey production

Saudi Arabia has invested SAR140 million ($37 million) to support its nascent rural honey industry, the government said this week.  The country has raised subsidised production by 41 percent since 2021 and wants to double output by 2026.  The Sustainable Agricultural Rural Development Program, known as Reef Saudi, said its funding supported over 10,500 people […]

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati has called for 'immediate assistance' from UN agencies

Lebanon PM to declare ‘agricultural disaster zone’ in south

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati is to declare the south of the country an “agricultural disaster zone” as the conflict in Gaza batters Lebanon’s beleaguered economy. Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Mikati called for “immediate assistance” from UN agencies and Lebanon’s international partners to help the country overcome the impact of a […]

Foxtail millet could help Gulf food security

Oman invests $4bn in food projects and agriculture

Oman is working on 137 food projects, with a total investment of OMR1.6 billion ($4.2 billion), according to a local media report. The government has unveiled initiatives such as agricultural cities and integrated agricultural plans to address land issues, Oman Daily Observer said, quoting the minister of agriculture, fisheries and water resources Dr. Saud bin […]

Adult, Male, Man tomatoes hydroponics Saudi Arabia Dava agriculture

Hydroponics allows family to become first Saudi tomato exporter

A family company has become the first exporter of tomatoes from Saudi Arabia, thanks to drip irrigation, which has made sending fruit and vegetables from the Gulf to lucrative European markets economically viable.  Dava, a private company set up by the Batal family in 2017, began exporting various types of tomato and “snack peppers” – […]

The UN estimates that earthquake damage will affect more than 20% of Ankara’s agri-food exports

Turkey’s agricultural sector gets $50m boost from Opec Fund

The Opec Fund for International Development (Opec Fund) has extended a $50 million loan to Turkey to support its agricultural and food production sectors in 11 cities severely impacted by earthquakes in February 2023.  The Development and Investment Bank of Turkey (TKYB) will lend the funds to small and medium-sized enterprises to promote a more […]

A worker threshes harvested wheat at a farm in Tunisia. The government has supplied wheat seeds to more than 16,000 small-holder farmers.

Tunisia secures $520m in loans to attack food crisis

The World Bank has approved loans worth $520 million to address Tunisia’s food security challenge, but experts are calling for the government to devise a new long-term policy. A loan of $300 million will supplement the Emergency Food Security Response Project, which aims to minimise the impact of four consecutive years of drought in Tunisia, […]

An alfalfa field in Arizona. Fondomonte used land in the state to grow the water-intensive crop for export to Saudi Arabia

Saudi company faces blowback over water use in Arizona

The US state of Arizona has cancelled land lease deals with a subsidiary of the Saudi dairy company Almarai after complaints of groundwater being depleted in the arid region. The cancellation highlights tensions over corporations controlling foreign land for food security.  In 2014 Almarai’s Fondomonte bought and leased thousands of acres in Arizona and California, […]

Sellers at the fish market in Jizan, Saudi Arabia. The kingdom brought in regulations in 2021 to curb overfishing

Saudi Arabia and UAE back fishing subsidies ban

The UAE and Saudi Arabia were the only GCC countries to back a failed bid by the World Trade Organization (WTO) to curb subsidies that contribute to overfishing and wider fishing sector overcapacity. It had been hoped that the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS), which, according to WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has “been on the […]

A cafe in Dubai Mall. Consumers' tastes are changing, according to food producer Agthia Video length: 05:02

Made in UAE: consumers turn to local food brands

UAE consumers are increasingly turning to locally produced products, according to the head of a multi-billion-dirham food and beverage conglomerate.  Consumption patterns in the region are changing rapidly, prioritising healthy lifestyles, time-saving and convenience while maintaining authentic tastes.  “If you can produce something locally, give them good value for money, they are much more open […]

The increase in onion prices was caused by 'floods affecting production in India and some Asian countries' said Oman

Onion prices surge 300% in Oman

Onion prices have increased by 300 percent in Oman, primarily due to a ban on exports from India, according to a local media report. Prices rose from 0.14 baisas ($0.36 cents) per kilogramme in 2023 to 0.47 baisas per kilogramme in December of 2023, before surging to 0.6 baisas per kilogramme by mid-February 2024, the […]

India's PM Narendra Modi waves at supporters gathered at Zayed Sports Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday

Modi’s visit to Abu Dhabi deepens UAE-India trade ties

Top-level talks between the UAE and India have taken place in Abu Dhabi, on the back of a deal to strengthen their ties and a 16 percent rise in bilateral trade. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the UAE, and Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, met on Tuesday to review progress since […]

Narendra Modi, India's PM, was met by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, the president of the UAE, on his arrival in Abu Dhabi

Maharashtra plans food security corridor with UAE

The central Indian state of Maharashtra is working to develop a food security corridor with the UAE. The government of Maharashtra, which has 11 million farmers, has linked up with US fund manager Pegasus Capital Advisors for the food trade project. Under their agreement, the Maharashtra authorities will share an operational plan within three months, […]

Moroccan farmer Ahmed Al Amri inspects his crop. The government is encouraging imports as drought affects wheat production

UAE’s Invictus seeks takeover of Moroccan grain trader

Invictus Investment Company is planning to acquire a majority stake in one of the largest grain traders in Morocco as it seeks to expand operations across Africa. The UAE commodities house, which is listed on the Abu Dhabi bourse, is aiming to buy a 60 percent stake in Graderco from Zalar Holding.  The deal is […]

A farm in Sudan, the country where the UAE signed its first land acquisition deal more than 50 years ago

UAE in talks to buy more African land to aid food security

The UAE has 14 land acquisition deals in the pipeline, mainly in Africa, as it looks to keep food security high on its policy agenda. It has already signed 56 land agreements, with the first completed more than 50 years ago in Sudan. The 14 deals are subject to either an expression of interest, a […]

Saudi Arabia's new strategy fouses on sectors such as genomics to make the kingdom a regional biotech leader

Saudi biotech strategy aims to dominate regional industry

Saudi Arabia has launched a National Biotechnology Strategy with the aim of becoming the region’s biotech leader by 2030 and a global leader by 2040, contributing 3 percent, or SAR130 billion ($35 billion), to non-oil GDP.  The strategy was unveiled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with the aim of improving Saudi health standards, helping […]

A seller in Jeddah's fish market, where freshly caught fish are sold at 100 stalls from 5am every day

Think Jeddah, think fish

For generations of pilgrims travelling to Mecca and Medina, the thriving port city of Jeddah on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast is known as the gateway to the two Holy Mosques.  With protein and nutrition comes strength and in the harsh conditions of Arabia it’s the fittest and strongest who thrive. No wonder then that […]

Neom's food company Topian has been launched with the support of the Saudi ministry of environment, water and agriculture

Neom sets up company to work on Saudi food security

Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion Neom giga-project has set up a food company to support the kingdom’s targets for food security and climate change mitigation. Topian, which is wholly owned by Neom, will work on food production, distribution and consumption across five pillars: climate-proof agriculture, regenerative aquaculture, novel foods, personalised nutrition and sustainable food supply. The […]

Harvesting wheat in Sharkia, Egypt. The Opec Fund is backing food security projects in Egypt and Jordan – both big importers of grain

Opec Fund piles up financing for wheat, wind and water

The Opec Fund for International Development is on track to meet its pledges to increase grants and loans to climate-related projects, its Middle East and North Africa head has told AGBI.  Musab Alomar, the fund’s director of public sector operations for Mena, said climate financing made up 33 percent of all Opec Fund approvals in […]