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Prior to now 5 years, meals provide chains have confronted unprecedented strain. Macro occasions just like the Covid-19 pandemic, geopolitical disruption and local weather change have had a direct impression on each stage, from farm labour to processing, transport and logistics. New meals safety methods are important, and AgTech innovators in Abu Dhabi are leveraging superior applied sciences to empower a extra resilient, environment friendly and sustainable provide chain.
The state of play
The UN warns that international meals safety might be severely threatened within the subsequent 30 years if little or no motion is taken to deal with the meals system’s vulnerability to local weather change. In the meantime, stakeholders are nonetheless grappling with the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic. The FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] Meals Value Index reported that the worldwide value of meals commodities reached its highest stage of 97.19 factors in September 2020.
To make sure its meals provide calls for are met, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched its Nationwide Meals Safety Technique 2051 in 2018, with the goal to realize zero starvation by offering entry to protected, nutritious and adequate meals for all. The capital, Abu Dhabi, is house to a number of the world’s high innovators and a number of the most inspiring help for entrepreneurs main the best way to higher meals safety. The emirate accounts for 87% of the UAE’s land space, that means it’s wealthy in land availability, which is allotted for agriculture at preferential low charges. It additionally has year-round pure warmth and daylight, making it the best location for agricultural innovation. Abu Dhabi is already house to greater than 24,000 farms.
To advertise additional growth, the Abu Dhabi Division of Financial Improvement (ADDED) has rolled out incentives for numerous sectors together with meals, the place land might be purchased for as little as 5 dirhams (Dh) per sq. metre, with long-term contracts additionally provided.
Funding alternative
In keeping with McKinsey, capital within the upstream agriculture meals expertise business reached $18.2bn in 2021, representing round a 38% year-on-year improve since 2013 – and AgTech corporations are booming. Asia affords the most important untapped alternative, with a present adoption price of round 9% in contrast with the worldwide common of 39%.
ASPIRE is the expertise programme administration arm of Abu Dhabi’s Superior Know-how Analysis Council (ATRC), and it’s supporting a number of the strongest AgTech innovation within the UAE. Described as Abu Dhabi’s expertise “wayfinder and catalyst”, ASPIRE works with stakeholders, regulators, researchers and innovators to facilitate the event of superior expertise options. By collaboration and perception, ASPIRE helps stakeholders perceive their challenges and empowers innovators to develop options to real-world issues. By supporting analysis and growth throughout Abu Dhabi, ASPIRE helps allow a clean path from lab to commercialisation.
Meals and Agriculture is certainly one of six key sectors focused by ASPIRE. As a part of its mission, ASPIRE runs competitions designed to “establish gifted analysis groups and groundbreaking tasks with the most effective potential to develop transformational applied sciences”, representing precious alternatives for innovators to supercharge their applied sciences. For instance, ASPIRE has partnered with the XPRIZE Feed the Subsequent Billion initiative, a $15m competitors “incentivising groups to supply hen and fish options that replicate or outperform standard protein in construction, versatility, sensory properties and dietary profile”.
The FoodTech Problem 2.0 was launched in affiliation with the UAE Ministry of Local weather Change and Setting and Tamkeen to establish expertise improvements with the potential to rework meals and agriculture. The competitors affords monetary and non-financial prizes, together with entry to a $2m prize pool, which incorporates start-up incentives, acceleration companies, innovation grants, localisation help and mentorship programmes. The 2022–23 competitors winners included Aquagrain, a cleantech soil improver produced from meals waste; Sustainable Plant, which grows plant-based protein on non-arable land; freezing expertise Revoltech, designed to maintain cells alive; and Orbisk AI picture recognition expertise, which leverages automation to quantify meals waste in skilled kitchens.
ASPIRE has additionally introduced Dh200m in funding throughout 5 years for 3 Digital Analysis Institutes (VRIs) in Abu Dhabi universities. Hosted at UAE College, the Abu Dhabi Worldwide Digital Analysis Institute for Meals Safety within the Drylands goals to realize meals safety in arid areas. In collaboration with Khalifa College, Abu Dhabi Agriculture, the Meals Security Authority, the Setting Company, the College of California, Davis, and Wageningen College, the VRI will contribute to “improvements of significance in protected city plant cultivation, city agroforestry, aquaculture, insect and algal farming”. It’ll additionally use information platforms and simulation instruments to trace ailments and antimicrobial resistance and make predictions about international and nationwide meals markets.
Intensive help
Abu Dhabi can also be house to the Abu Dhabi Funding Workplace (ADIO), which has already supported world-class innovators together with Responsive Drip Irrigation and RNZ.
ADIO has additionally collaborated with the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Meals Security Authority to develop funding tasks value Dh1bn to advance meals safety and agricultural sustainability.
In the meantime, ADQ, the Abu Dhabi-based funding and holding firm, lately launched the operational part of its AgTech Park undertaking based mostly in Al Ain. The undertaking goals to assist the UAE improve meals safety by creating native provide chains. It has now launched its digital farming undertaking in partnership with Italy-based expertise firm ZERO. That is the primary of a number of managed surroundings agricultural ideas within the park. As soon as working at scale, the park is anticipated to contribute greater than 7% to the UAE’s agriculture gross home product.
Abu Dhabi establishments and entrepreneurs alike have recognised the significance of agricultural innovation for the way forward for meals safety. Abu Dhabi affords a world-class surroundings for innovation that goals to feed a rising inhabitants in an more and more unsure world.
To search out out extra about AgTech alternatives in Abu Dhabi, obtain the whitepaper.
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