UAE Minister of State for Food Security, Maryam Al Muhairi, said that the UAE ranked 31st globally in the 2018 Global Food Security Index, published by the Economist Intelligence Research Unit. It is based on FAO data from 113 countries and is based on food availability and capacity standards. Bear the cost of food, as well as the quality and safety standard.
In a meeting with journalists yesterday, she announced that the participants in the Global Food Technology Challenge, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, started yesterday through the foodtechchallenge website . com .
Al Muhairi stressed the importance of launching the “Global Food Technology Challenge” to encourage local participants from all over the world to present innovative ideas and solutions to develop the agricultural and food production sectors in the UAE using modern technology and apply them to suit the UAE's trends in food security. To stimulate the minds and ideas in the UAE and the world, to innovate new initiatives in the agricultural sector and food security, and to develop local production through the use of the latest technological means and the enhancement of research and development capabilities, to ensure the achievement of the objectives of «National Strategy for Food Security.
She added that the competition aims to provide solutions related to water scarcity, scarcity of arable land and high temperatures, pointing out that the total prizes will be one million dollars, pointing out that the award targets young people, entrepreneurs, university students and startups.
She stressed that the jury of the challenge will include a group of international experts with international expertise in the field of technology and economy, who will work to evaluate projects and ideas and choose the best, while the ideas will be transformed into projects on the ground, after designing the appropriate practical application mechanisms for each project. Next April, four winning teams fall into two categories: home farming and community agriculture.
“The challenges of food production in the UAE are many and we seek to achieve sustainability through the use of new and innovative ideas and modern technology in implementing sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions in the field of water and food through the nutritional value chain to ensure food production without waste of resources,” said Al Muhairi. “Innovative food production mechanisms and solutions that enhance local production, and then present it to different countries of the world, will enable the community to provide part of its food needs intelligently, in line with the community food security approach.”
She pointed out that there is encouragement for smart agriculture, which consumes less water, as well as home and community agriculture, pointing out that green greenhouses used in agriculture use only 30 liters of water to produce a kilogram of tomatoes, while abroad is consumed 200 liters to produce it.
She pointed out that the UAE has come a long way in terms of fish production, through farms that currently produce many types of fish such as spream, grouper and others.
Food security has become a global issue, with the world's population expected to rise to 9 billion by 2050, as well as increasing pressure on natural resources, she said.
She pointed out that the UAE imports 90% of its food needs, and therefore put the issue of food security among its priorities, considering that achieving food security is a shared responsibility between the individual and the state. She stressed the need to raise public awareness of the importance of reducing food waste, which amounts to more than 30% globally. She explained that the UAE government adopts a comprehensive approach to achieving food security, in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to reach comprehensive development through attracting minds and encouraging innovators to partner in designing the future of sustainable agricultural production, which supports efforts to achieve the objectives of the national strategy. 2051.
Conditions
The Global Food Technology Challenge conditions include sending comprehensive proposals to each participant, explaining the idea, identifying the challenges facing the UAE, as well as offering a scientific solution to them through a presentation that includes a technological means, taking into consideration sustainability, and being economically feasible. It also requires attaching a special video showing the members and details of the proposed participant team, and how to implement solutions within the UAE to suit their circumstances.