UAE targets 50% basic food from local farms by end of 2023

 

By the end of this year, the UAE hopes to obtain 50% of some essential food requirements from local farmers and producers, with the goal of boosting that percentage to 100% by 2030.

The UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment (MoCCE), Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, made this announcement on Tuesday during the first National Dialogue for Food Security (NDFS), a special initiative by MoCCE designed to increase local farms' production and marketing efficiency in order to guarantee the food security of the UAE.

In accordance with the effort, a number of public and commercial organisations, including certain eateries and caterers, will purchase 50% of 10 staple goods, like meat, chicken, eggs, dates, green leaves, and tomatoes, locally.

According to Almheiri, "We see food security as a national security concern and a driver of economic development, inspired by the vision of our leader, His Highness SheikhMohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE.

She continued, "In less than three years, we have experienced two major crises that posed major threats to global food security, causing disruptions in the global food supply chain, namely following the pandemic and the recent global conflicts. Food security is a vital sector in the UAE and around the world, especially at a time of rising challenges."

In addition to tackling food loss and waste by launching several initiatives, such as "Nemah," to promote the sustainability of national farms, Almheiri assured: "The UAE has taken major strategic steps towards promoting food security, such as deploying advanced technology to strengthen local food production and enhance the sector's contribution to closing the food gap."

With the first harvest of protein-enriched wheat harvested at a sizable farm in Maliha, Sharjah, on Monday, Almheiri stated that the UAE has demonstrated that food can be farmed locally. 15,200 tonnes of wheat are predicted to be produced from the crop.