Zero Hunger: How the UAE is walking the talk

Zero Hunger: How the UAE is walking the talk

For some time now, the country has been spearheading a ‘grow local, eat local’ movement. This is a country that doesn’t lend itself to a natural farming landscape, given its soil and topography, and yet, thanks to innovative techniques, we have done the impossible: begin a revolution in the farm sector

Published: Tue 21 Feb 2023, 10:42 PM

UAE’s Minister of State for Food and Water Security Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri’s recent observation — at the ongoing Gulfood, which seeks to not only look at business models in the food and food security domains, but also build them along sustainable lines — that the world is nowhere close to achieving Zero Hunger was right on point.

A whopping one-third portion of all food that is produced goes to waste, while as much as 800 million people remain hungry. And add to the mix the fact that a third of greenhouse gas emissions are coming from our current food systems. From all accounts, it’s a lop-sided and very grim situation that the planet is being held ransom to, and every single nation needs to throw in its hat into the ring with concerted and collaborative action plans.

It’s significant that Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri harped