Agriculture Resilient foxtail millet could aid Gulf food security Researchers in Abu Dhabi have identified what they claim is a highly climate-resilient cereal crop – never farmed at scale before in the Middle East – that could pose a solution to the region’s escalating food security problem. Michael Purugganan, professor of biology at NYU Abu Dhabi, and his team published a study this summer […] September 12, 2023
Food & Drink HeroGo steps up fight against ‘ugly’ food waste HeroGo, an online delivery service for “ugly” or surplus produce, is planning to cut food waste beyond the UAE via partnerships with supermarkets and hotels, its founder reveals. “To have the biggest impact we need to be in multiple markets, so we’re in talks to expand in the near term,” HeroGo’s Daniel Solomon tells AGBI. […] August 28, 2023
Video length: 03:16 Video Economy Inflation in Egypt hit hard by Russia Inflation in Egypt is going to be a “long-stretched affair”, according to a Mena market researcher in a video interview with AGBI. Egypt’s annual headline inflation increased to a record 36.5 percent in July driven by high food prices. Currency devaluation and the Russia-Ukraine war have been the main factors contributing to the inflated prices. […] August 16, 2023
Video length: 04:13 Food & Drink Supermarkets embrace UAE’s brand of plant-based meat Switch Foods, the plant-based meat brand based in Abu Dhabi, is now available at 133 stores across the UAE as the Gulf’s appetite for alternative diets continues to grow. Consumers can now buy its products from retailers including Carrefour, Organic Food Café, Grandiose, Geant, Union Coop, Sharjah Coop, Al Maya, Abella and Spinneys. Online purchases […] August 8, 2023
Agriculture High-tech greenhouse turns up heat on UAE sustainability Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ has teamed up with Netherlands-based Safe Haven Solutions to build a high-tech greenhouse in the UAE capital. The 10-hectare facility will be built in ADQ’s AgTech Park in Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi. It will use advanced agriculture technology such as a cooling system inside the greenhouse to help […] August 7, 2023
Analysis Agriculture Saudi and Brazil sow seeds to partner on food security Saudi Arabia is intensifying its trade and investment ties with Latin America in pursuit of food security and green energy, as a ministry-led delegation hunts for opportunities in Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Argentina, Panama and Paraguay. A visit to São Paulo earlier this week by Khalid al-Falih, Saudi minister of investment, coincided with a Brazilian […] August 3, 2023
Agriculture UAE’s farming task force clinches $136m supply deal Farms in the UAE have provisionally agreed to supply food and agricultural products totalling AED500 million ($136 million) over five years to some of the country’s biggest public sector institutions. The deal is the first to be struck by the National Farm Sustainability Initiative (NFSI) task force, a government group set up by the UAE’s […] August 2, 2023
Agriculture Cop28 urges nations to put food at heart of climate action The UAE has called on governments around the world to put food at the centre of their climate-change agendas. Speaking at the UN Food Systems Summit in Rome on Monday, Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, the UAE’s minister of climate change and the environment and Cop28 food systems lead, invited governments to sign the Leaders Declaration […] July 25, 2023
Agriculture Saudi dairy giant plans to turn bio-waste into fertiliser Saudi farming giant National Agricultural Development Company has signed a deal to recycle the bio-waste produced by its 92,000 cows. The business, which is known as Nadec, said an estimated 150,000 tons of bio-waste were produced annually at its dairy farms in the kingdom. In a filing to the Saudi Stock Exchange on Tuesday, Nadec […] July 25, 2023
Opinion Environment Iran is running out of water, with little signs of progress During the winter months, snowfall carpets the Alborz mountains that loom over Tehran, sending millions of gallons of water through the capital’s roadside drains known as jubes and world-famous qanat systems of underground aqueducts. Across the country, a series of naturally occurring lakes and rivers combined with reservoirs and dams combine to trap the snowmelt. […] July 24, 2023
Manufacturing Egypt plans fertiliser complex with help from China and Italy Egypt will build a third industrial fertiliser production complex in Ain Sokhna in cooperation with Chinese and Italian companies. President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met and discussed with executives of China’s Wuhan Engineering Co. and Italy’s Ballestra on establishing the industrial complex, the president’s office said in a statement. “The meeting discussed the ongoing cooperation with the […] July 24, 2023
Opinion Agriculture Cop28 must advance urban agriculture to cut emissions The summit in Dubai should advance agricultural technology to mitigate climate change July 20, 2023
Food & Drink PIF unit buys $339m stake in Brazilian food processor A subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has invested in Brazilian food processor BRF as part of its drive to boost food security in the kingdom. Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (Salic) has acquired 180 million equity shares in BRF, representing 10.7 percent of the company’s outstanding shares, for SAR1.27 billion ($338.77 million). The […] July 20, 2023
Tourism Sustainable tourism the new priority for Middle East Sustainable tourism was once viewed as a marginal segment of the Middle East’s offering – an eco-lodge in Jordanian desert, or a Bedouin trail in the Sinai. Times are changing. The Gulf’s marketing chiefs are rolling out ambitious projects that are designed to lure the eco-conscious traveller. Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Global project airport will […] July 17, 2023
Agriculture UAE firms to develop land in Angola for rice and avocados Two UAE companies have signed a deal to develop a vast plot of land in Angola as the African agricultural sector’s appeal grows among Gulf investors. Dubai Investments and E20 Investment, an Abu Dhabi agribusiness investment company, will develop 3,750 hectares – approximately the size of 9,300 football fields. Maximising the potential of Angola’s fertile […] July 11, 2023
Video length: 04:13 VIDEO Food & Drink Abu Dhabi’s Switch feeds appetite for meat alternative UAE consumers are some of the biggest meat eaters in the world, so it might seem an unlikely place to open a plant-based meat factory. The Emirates’ average annual consumption of meat per person is 73kg – more than double the global average of 34.1kg, according to Statista. But Edward Hamod, founder and CEO of […] June 14, 2023
Food & Drink Agriculture major Nadec lines up $533m rights issue Saudi food processing company National Agricultural Development Company – known as Nadec – has filed an application to regulators to increase its capital by SAR2 billion ($533 million) through a rights issue. Nadec’s application has been sent to the Capital Market Authority for approval, the company said in a statement to the Saudi Stock Exchange. […] June 13, 2023
Agriculture Abu Dhabi agribusiness links up with Estonian forage firm An Abu Dhabi agribusiness has signed a supply agreement that will drive construction of forage processing facilities in the Baltic. Al Dahra Group has made the deal with Golden Fields, an Estonian animal feed company. Under the partnership, Al Dahra has an exclusive offtake agreement for forage – such as corn silage, grasses, alfalfa and […] May 29, 2023
Opinion Food & Drink The Arab world needs to ease global food trade barriers The region must embrace food imports May 23, 2023
Economy UAE and Thailand to launch Cepa talks this month The UAE and Thailand are to launch negotiations to establish a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa), with the first round of negotiations starting on May 16 in the Emirates. UAE minister of state for foreign trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi said the negotiations are a natural progression following the launch of the first UAE-Thai […] May 10, 2023
Environment UAE and US climate-smart farming fund grows to $13bn The UAE and the US have increased investment in climate-smart agriculture and food systems innovation to more than $13 billion, said US secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. The investments have exceeded the challenge by US special envoy for climate John Kerry at Cop27 to achieve $10 billion by Cop28, Vilsack told the Agriculture Innovation Mission for […] May 9, 2023
Opinion Agriculture Lengthy war in Sudan could jeopardise Gulf food security Sudan’s now-protracted conflict could have ongoing and unforeseen consequences, not only for the war-ravaged African state, but for its trade connections, including the GCC As Sudan’s warring militaries – the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – battle for supremacy, catastrophic damage is being wrought on the nation’s already rundown infrastructure and utility […] May 4, 2023
