The Abu Dhabi Investment Office is dispersing $41 million to three technology firms to boost initiatives that address global food security challenges under the Ghadan 21 accelerator programme.
Adio has partnered with tech-enabled farming company Pure Harvest Smart Farms, grocery platform FreshToHome and space research firm Nanoracks to develop local expertise and new ways of producing food in arid climates.
"We've gone to land, sea and space" to identify companies to work with, Tariq Bin Hendi, director general of Adio, told The National.
“Abu Dhabi is pressing ahead at full steam with our mission to ‘turn the desert green."
Food security and innovation in agriculture are priorities of the UAE. The Abu Dhabi government has earmarked Dh1 billion ($272m) for the agri-tech incentive programme as part of the government’s Ghadan 21 accelerator initiative.
Between 80 and 90 per cent of the food in the GCC is imported, according to Chatham House.
While the figure is relatively high, UAE residents are starting to reap the benefits of recent efforts: locally-harvested produce at the market or on dining menus are now a common sight. Much of this surfaced over the last few years as vertical and hydroponic farming ventures and research, as well as cloud-seeding, bear fruit.
The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the push for greater food security in the UAE, Mr Bin Hendi said. Adapting technology and developing local talent in order to be exporters of solutions is "the bare minimum" goal of the programme, he said.
Funding from Adio can cover costs related to Abu Dhabi-based employees, purchasing equipment for research and development and as rebates on land use. The country’s 24,000 farms are set to benefit if new technology can be applied to drive efficiencies in crop yield and water usage, Mr Bin Hendi said.
Earlier this year, Adio invested $100m to bring four other agriculture companies to the emirate to attract high-skilled talent and cutting-edge research. The three companies named on Tuesday are the latest in a wave of funding under the Ghadan21 initiative.
This investment is also among the biggest efforts by the UAE to apply research in space to farming.
“Much of today’s technology used for vertical, urban and closed environment agriculture initially came from space research from 30 years ago," Allen Herbert, head of Nanoracks, UAE, said. "We firmly believe that space research holds the keys to solving major challenges on Earth from climate change to food security."
The US-based company is the single largest commercial user of the International Space Station and is building the first-ever commercial AgTech space research programme.
Nanoracks is now planning a ‘StarLab Space Farming Centre’ in Abu Dhabi. It will be a commercial space research facility focused on advancing knowledge and technology for organisms as well as food produced in space and in equally extreme climates on Earth.
The space-based technology will be applied to desert agriculture to address pressing environmental and food security challenges and to benefit long-term human space exploration, according to the company.
AeroFarms, which took part in the first tranche of Adio funding, has made significant headway in establishing its Abu Dhabi operations.
It received more than 9,000 job applications for work at its desert agriculture research facility in Abu Dhabi and is forging local partnerships.
David Rosenberg, co-founder and chief executive, said the New Jersey company is working with the College of Food and Agriculture at UAE University in Al Ain to develop "a new generation of farm technologies and talents".
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
How it works
Booklava works on a subscription model. On signing up you receive a free book as part of a 30-day-trial period, after which you pay US$9.99 (Dh36.70) per month to gain access to a library of books and discounts of up to 30 per cent on selected titles. You can cancel your subscription at any time. For more details go to www.booklava.com
The Lost Letters of William Woolf
Helen Cullen, Graydon House
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
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BRIEF SCORES
England 228-7, 50 overs
N Sciver 51; J Goswami 3-23
India 219, 48.4 overs
P Raut 86, H Kaur 51; A Shrubsole 6-46
England won by nine runs
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
