Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, urged nations and organisations to work together to harness technology to support food production.
Ms Al Mheiri spoke on Tuesday in Amsterdam at the opening of GreenTech, a three-day meeting in the Dutch capital for the horticulture industry and policymakers from more than 100 countries.
The minister spoke about the UAE’s goal of become a leading exporter of sustainable agricultural solutions for hot and arid climates and to share its experiences as the Netherlands does.
She said global action was required to allow all parts of the agriculture sector to thrive.
“Food systems are broken today and they are unsustainable. There is so much we have to do to fix them,” Ms Al Mheiri said.
“We need to forge partnerships, we need to exchange knowledge, we need to grow and develop our agri-technologists to solve these issues and transform our food systems into more sustainable ones.
UAE aims to be food innovation hub
“Just as the Netherlands have looked at innovation and technology, we are doing the same — to really look into what kind of foods make sense to grow in the UAE, harnessing the power of technology,” she said.
“With our partners we are looking at how we can lessen the cost of operations to help other countries that have the kind of climate we have.”
Ms Al Mheiri said it was important to understand the crops that grow in water scarce and desert environments and to develop solutions that were not always high tech to address the needs of small farmers everywhere.
“We have set a goal for the UAE to become a global hub for food innovation and technology just like the Netherlands … as one of the smallest countries yet the second largest exporter when it comes to agricultural goods,” she said.
“That is the same mindset we are trying, to really leverage innovation, get the youth excited about studying agri technology.”
Netherlands a shining light for agriculture
After the US, the Netherlands is the world’s largest exporter of agricultural produce.
One of the most densely populated countries, the Netherlands has made the maximum use of limited farmland with exports of €65 billion ($67.9bn) worth of vegetables, fruit, flowers, meat and dairy products each year.
The UAE in the past few years has utilised technology to produce locally farmed salmon, grow berries and quinoa.
Vertical farms use a system of hydroponics in which plants thrive in nutrient-rich water instead of soil.
Jan Kees Goet, secretary general with the Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, said the world had learnt lessons from the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
“The terrible war in Ukraine has made people aware that food security is not always guaranteed and the Covid crisis was a wake-up call with distortions in international trade,” he said.
He said the key was to co-create by working with partners overseas to find local answers to global challenges, while drawing expertise from high technology sectors, robotics and artificial intelligence.
“Healthy products for local markets, less water use, protected cultivation with less chemicals, green houses that generate energy — if there is one country that is trying to find answers to the questions of today, tomorrow and the future it is the Netherlands,” he said.
“The Netherlands is small, densely populated and our horticulture sector is large and well developed. Knowledge, entrepreneurship and public-private co-operation has made the sector one of the most competitive of our economy.”
Food security at Cop28
Ms Al Mheiri also met Prince Jaime de Bourbon de Parme, the Dutch climate envoy.
Discussions centred on preparing for and placing food high on the agenda of Cop28, which the UAE will host next year.
The agricultural sector is the world’s biggest employer and also the most vulnerable to climate change.
Prince Jaime said both governments were looking at ways to reshape farming with technology when faced with limited water resources.
“It’s clear that [Ms Al Mheiri] wants to put food at the centre of the engagement,” he said.
“How do we use high tech for efficiency in the food industry and adapt to a rapidly changing world — that is definitely something we will be looking at jointly.”
During GreenTech, professionals will share knowledge on precision horticulture, robotics in greenhouses, organic farming, climate control, water and energy solutions. The event runs from June 14 to 16.
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
If you go…
Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.
Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days.
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How it works
1) The liquid nanoclay is a mixture of water and clay that aims to convert desert land to fertile ground
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4) The cost of treatment per hectare (2.4 acres) of desert varies from $7,000 to $10,000 per hectare
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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The Al Barzakh Festival takes place on Wednesday and Thursday at 7.30pm in the Red Theatre, NYUAD, Saadiyat Island. Tickets cost Dh105 for adults from platinumlist.net
