UAE to face challenges in post-Covid-19 phase
dubai — Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Al Mheiri, Minister of State for Food Security, on Tuesday confirmed that the UAE food security is maintained and its food system is capable of facing the potential challenges of the post-Covid-19 phase.
In the session entitled, “Implications of Covid-19 on the UAE: Risks and Opportunities”, she said the current situation will change the world’s perspective on food security. The session took place on the second day of the UAE Digital Government Meeting, “Preparations for thep-Covid-19 phase”. to develop the UAE’s strategy for the post-Covis-19 period.
Al Mheiri stressed that, despite the challenges of coronavirus pandemic, it also offers many opportunities for the food sector in the UAE, which proved to be highly equipped and resilient. The UAE successfully secured food supplies in all the country’s markets, thanks to the efforts and cooperation of all stakeholders.
Al Mheiri highlighted the main pillars of food security in the post-Covid-19 phase, including increasing local food production as a top priority, especially as the local production is of high quality, easily provided to local markets, and helps overcome imports challenges. She added that in the post-Covid-19 phase, governments will focus on adopting modern agricultural technologies and utilising renewable natural resources in food production.
The second pillar is providing a business-friendly environment that attracts foreign investments, as the coming period will witness increasing partnerships to launch investment incentives packages and promote agricultural and food projects that cater to the plans of increasing local production.
The third pillar is developing various criteria for evaluating external agricultural investment opportunities, including the ease of product access to the markets of the investing countries and the commitment to external agricultural investment and product export. These projects aim to support the food security system in countries with limited natural re-sources, thus changing the external agricultural investment landscape.
Post-Covid-19 opportunities
The Minister of State for Food Security pointed out that the post-Covid-19 phase presents an opportunity for supporting technology-enabled agricultural system, accelerating the transition from traditional to modern farming methods.