UAE food security trends indicate safe, nutritious and sufficient future produce for citizens

UAE food security trends indicate safe, nutritious and sufficient future produce for citizens

Having worked in the UAE F&B industry for over 10 years, I have seen a positive shift in the UAE’s agricultural and farm markets, which I believe is in correspondence to the UAE’s launch of the National Food Security Strategy 2051. The strategy aims to achieve zero hunger by ensuring access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food all year round throughout the world. However, during the pandemic years it became apparent that the UAE’s reliance on imports for food and agricultural products were not sustainable, especially when it came to meeting the country’s food security goals. The UAE experienced restrictions and a shutdown of borders, hindering the flow of heavily-relied-upon imports, which met the needs for several residents. Additionally, this also raised concerns for all businesses that depended on imports. There were existing obstacles in the UAE’s agricultural sector before the pandemic, such as the scarcity of water resources, severe environmental conditions and soil salinity. However, the UAE always found innovative solutions to combat these challenges. That being said, these solutions were still not enough to battle the complications that arose with the pandemic, and it shook the foundation of the current food security strategies. I believe though that the