Agriculture accounts for the single largest source of food supplies worldwide. However, creating a secure food future continues to be a daunting task, acknowledge Dubai.
This is why the emirate is using arising technologies to enhance the farming sector of the country. The UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment and Minister of State for Food Security, Mariam Al Mheiri, said, “Smart farming is the way to achieve food security.”
Experts say that Smart farming practices are suitable globally and even more to countries like the UAE because of their geographical constraints.
Al Mheiri says, “The idea is to utilise fewer resources for maximum yield while reducing the wastage wherever and whenever possible. New-age technologies help, and we are on to it,” while talking about precision agriculture, which is just about cutting edge areas of agritech like biotechnologies, robotics nanotechnologies and AI.
Al Mheiri further added, “We want to use sensors and drones to comprehend what every acre of land requires and what it does not. This will decrease inputs and their carbon footprints.”
According to the UAE, she says, has doubled its investment in research and development to ensure sustainable and innovative farming practices.
She also revealed that many companies set up in the UAE are using funds for innovation besides giving technology to adjacent countries.
The UAE, which imports almost 85% of its food, has been making strategic interventions to enhance the efficiency of its farms to get self-sufficiency.
According to our Food Security Strategy 2051, the country needs to raise average farm income and agricultural workforce by 5 and 10%, respectively, besides reducing the amount of water that is being consumed by irrigation.
The Food Tech Valley further strengthens the country’s responsibility to become a global leader in sustainable food production.
Dubai, which is UAE’s springboard for Agritecg, meanwhile witnessed an increase of 11% in food trade last year as the total value touched Dh.57 billion. Exports from the emirate also increased by 11.3% to Dh.10.8 billion, while re-exports grew by 10% to Dh.7.9 billion.