When the Covid-19 pandemic hit , global trade ground to a halt. Around the world people were scrambling to buy essentials as supermarket shelves emptied. But in the UAE, a country that relies on imports for more than 90 per cent of its food supermarkets appeared to have more than enough. The government repeatedly assured people there would be no shortages. We hear from Maximo Torero Cullen, the chief economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization at the UN, and Kyle Wagner, Head of Operations at Madar Farms, about how the UAE began preparing for a food crisis over a decade ago. We also hear from Nicole Rogers, founder and CEO of Agripocity, a UAE based company that connects farmers directly to the international marketplace.
