Mohammed bin Rashid launches the “Food Technology Challenge”

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched yesterday, in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, The “Food Technology Challenge” is the largest of its kind in the world, which aims to develop innovative solutions for food production and management in the Emirates, and to employ advanced technology to find efficient and effective tools and techniques to overcome the challenges of the agricultural sector, in order to achieve sustainable production. Food security in the UAE to be a leading global center for food security.

The Global Food Technology Challenge is consistent with the objectives of the National Food Security Strategy, which aims to develop a comprehensive national system, based on the foundations of enabling sustainable food production, and identifies the elements of the national food basket, in line with the needs of the UAE within a comprehensive future vision that takes into account population growth and the prospects for… Economic, societal and technological development, in addition to global environmental and climate challenges that require directing the UAE’s efforts in this aspect, in line with global efforts to secure the future of humanity.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said, “The food technology challenge will open a horizon for regional and global cooperation to create a unified vision for global food security, and we look forward to the UAE being the heart of this vision, and that achieving food security constitutes a basic foundation for continued development.”

His Highness added: “We must invest competencies and scientific expertise to find innovative and exceptional solutions to develop a sustainable agricultural system, and we welcome all global expertise and creative minds in the Emirates and the world to be part of the food technology challenge.”

His Highness stressed that the culture of the impossible that the UAE adopts makes it qualified to play a role in achieving food security in the country and the region, explaining that the experts said that our land cannot grow crops, and we proved them wrong. From 4,000 farms in 1971, we have more than 40,000 today. farm”.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said: “We want these innovative ideas to be the nucleus of qualitative projects in the agricultural sector, achieving our ambitious vision for food security, and pushing our national economy towards the future.”

His Highness concluded by saying: “Efforts must be unified, partnerships strengthened, and cooperation mechanisms must be created between the public and private sectors and between various regional and international institutions and organizations to build a unified global vision regarding global food security.”

His Highness was accompanied during the launch of the “Food Technology Challenge” by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the Future Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, and Minister of State for Food Security Maryam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Al Muhairi. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tamkeen, Rima Al-Muqarrab, and a number of general managers and senior officials.

The launch of the challenge, which was organized by the Food Security Office in partnership with Tamkeen, the leading national company in developing knowledge-based projects, was also attended by many representatives of the academic and agricultural sectors in the country.

The “Food Technology Challenge” aims to attract and encourage companies, individuals, and scientific and research institutions in the Emirates and various countries of the world to employ advanced technology in developing innovative ideas and effective tools for food production in the Emirates, and to find creative solutions to the various local challenges facing the agricultural sector and sustainable food production in the Emirates. The challenge prizes are worth one million US dollars, distributed among four winners.

The challenge, which continues for seven months, seeks to find solutions to the challenges of the agriculture and food production sectors across food value chains, and to enhance the participation of community members in the food and nutrition system in the UAE, by attracting the best minds and scientific expertise from around the world, to work together to bridge The current food gap, as the country imports about 90% of its food from abroad, and faces many challenges to sustainable agricultural and food production.

The challenge also focuses on engaging various groups of the local community in developing agricultural activities and food production at the individual level, raising awareness of the importance of food and ways to adopt healthy nutrition methods, and reducing food waste, in order to ensure that future needs are met and to ensure the sustainability of basic resources. The UAE government launched the National Food Security Strategy in November 2018, as part of the second session of the annual meetings of the UAE government – 2018.

The strategy aims to develop a comprehensive national system, based on the foundations of enabling sustainable food production, and identifies the elements of the national food basket, which includes 18 main types, based on three main criteria: knowledge of the volume of local consumption of the most important products, the ability to produce and manufacture, and nutritional needs. .

The strategy includes 38 major short- and long-term initiatives, within the 2051 Vision and the 2021 action agenda, and operates through five strategic directions.

Goals

The Food Technology Challenge, which will last for seven months, seeks to:

– Finding solutions to the challenges of the agriculture and food production sectors across food value chains.

– Enhancing the participation of community members in the food and nutrition system in the UAE.

– Attracting the best minds and expertise from around the world to work together to bridge the current food gap.

– Involving various groups of the local community in developing agricultural activities and food production at the individual level.

– Raising awareness of the importance of food and ways to adopt healthy nutrition methods and reduce food waste.

Investment opportunities

The projects participating in the “Food Technology Challenge” will be evaluated by a specialized jury, which includes an elite group of international experts in the field of technology, economics and environmental sustainability. The committee will evaluate the proposals submitted and choose the best in terms of efficiency, innovation, broad applicability and future prospects of the project, so that The winners were announced in April 2020. Work will be done to identify and design mechanisms to implement projects on the ground, and the challenge provides the possibilities of finding investment opportunities to implement ideas through pioneering projects implemented in the UAE.