Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Food security

Vertical saffron farm spices up UAE’s agtech sector

Agtech company Veggitech opened the first vertical saffron farm in Sharjah this summer, with the harvest of the expensive spice, known as red gold, peaking at the end of November.  The UAE saffron farm is the largest in the Middle East and North African region, spanning only 165 square metres but equivalent to 3.5 hectares […]

Fertilisers

Morocco aims to become the world’s premier fertiliser producer

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has upset the global agricultural industry in more ways than one – but for Morocco, one of the world’s largest fertiliser producers, it has presented an opportunity. Not only were Russia and Ukraine some of the world’s most important wheat and grain exporters, but they also played a central role in […]

Retold is a sustainable boutique selling pre-loved fashion in Dubai

30 of the most sustainable companies in the Middle East

With Cop27 beginning today in Egypt, we focus on 30 businesses tackling the social and environmental challenges that threaten the region Middle Eastern companies large and small are going green as they realise the environmental and commercial potential of being socially conscious.  Governments are also focusing on sustainability, placing green projects at the heart of […]

COP27

Egypt’s Cop27 will see developing nations call for ‘climate justice’

Drought and famine haunt the Middle East. The Dead Sea has fallen to its lowest level in centuries. Starved of food and fresh water, desperate migrants criss-cross the Mediterranean, fomenting social unrest and violence. Within a few decades, a healthy global trade network has collapsed. Every major settlement has been abandoned or razed to the […]

Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan heads new green think tank

UAE launches think tank to drive net zero 2050 ambitions

The launch of the UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators (UICCA) was announced on Tuesday to drive the UAE’s commitment towards net zero by 2050. The UICCA is a non-partisan, climate action entity that will bring together members of the public and private sector, including academic institutions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).    In the lead-up to the […]

Oman to open up new sectors as it targets $29bn investments

New investment opportunities will be offered in food security, health, culture and sports sectors by next month, the Oman Daily Observer reported. The investment opportunities are part of the estimated OR 11 billion ($28.57 billion) in total investment, which is being offered to local and international players over the 2021-2025 period, said Aisha Al Saifi, […]

Beeah: the hero of zero waste is ready for its next mission

The emirate of Sharjah is poised to become the Middle East’s first zero-waste city, after building the region’s first waste-to-energy plant.  Yet even before the plant’s inauguration in May, Sharjah had the highest waste diversion rate in the region, at 76 percent, thanks to the pioneering efforts of local environmental and waste management group Beeah.  […]

Gulf serves up locally farmed salmon – and better food security

From the old man who dredged up a djinn to the boy who netted an emerald, fishermen populate the folk stories of the Arab world. But the dhow fleets of the Gulf no longer provide a lifeline for local economies. By contrast, aquaculture – the farming of fish, shellfish and aquatic plants – has begun […]

Make it rain: UAE pins its hopes on cloud seeding

Condensation streaming down windows is a familiar sight in Dubai’s summer, an illusion of rain at the hottest time of year.  The UAE’s average rainfall is extremely low in August, but in recent years there has been a rise, which some experts attribute to cloud seeding – when a dedicated fleet of planes take to […]

Sharjah wins waste-to-energy race as rest of region cleans up its act

Dubai had the Gulf’s first “seven-star” hotel and Abu Dhabi hosted the inaugural “day-night” Formula One Grand Prix. The emirate of Sharjah can claim a UAE first too – one that is less glitzy but potentially more transformative – the first waste-to-energy power plant. The Sharjah waste-to-energy facility, officially inaugurated in May, adds another dimension […]

UAE agtech startup aims to disrupt $500bn fodder industry

A UAE agtech startup is aiming to disrupt the $500 billion livestock feed industry, as prices rise on the back of supply chain disruptions caused by the Ukraine war. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations reported last week that, while the FAO Food Price Index declined 8.6 percent month-on-month in July […]

  • Analysis

Kenya general election ‘could delay’ trade deal with UAE

The UAE and Kenya are launching talks to form a free trade agreement to boost bilateral economic ties. But political uncertainty in the east African country could hamper efforts to collaborate on shared priorities such as oil, gas, technology and ports, experts say. The two countries signed a joint statement on July 28 pledging to […]

Person, Human, Table

Food security report delivers stark warning to import-reliant Gulf

GCC governments must step up their efforts to develop agri-food technology and recycle waste, a new food security report has warned. The Gulf is one of the world’s most import-dependent regions. The main food security challenge for the GCC is a natural or man-made crisis that could block one or more countries’ access to imports, […]

A combine loads a truck of grain while harvesting wheat during Ukraine-Russia conflict

Poor Arab nations face hunger despite Ukraine grain deal

Middle East and African countries dependent on Ukrainian grain face the prospect of crippling food insecurity, hunger and misery, despite a deal to restart exports blockaded amid the Russian war. Moscow’s promises may prove unreliable, while skyrocketing grain prices could spell dire outcomes for the region’s hungriest and most vulnerable nations, experts told AGBI. The […]

Emirates-US joint venture opens world’s largest vertical farm

Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC) and US-based Crop One have announced the opening of Bustanica, the world’s largest hydroponic farm, backed by an investment of $40 million.  The facility is the first vertical farm for Emirates Crop One, the joint venture between the two companies, and is located near Al Maktoum airport at Dubai World Central. […]