‘Great infrastructure helped UAE become a food exchange hub’
dubai — The UAE became one of the most important food exchange centres during the pandemic, thanks to its great infrastructure, said the UAE Minister of Food Security, Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri.
“The UAE has a vision that was created during the pandemic, because it exports 90 per cent of its food needs,” she said.
“The UAE wants to top the world’s food safety indicator by the year 2051. To achieve that target, we have improved our technological abilities and cooperated with all countries to build a global sustainable food system,” she added.
She made the statement while virtually attending the 14th edition of the Dubai International Food Safety Conference.
“The UAE is building on its technological abilities to revolutionise supply chain systems that would enable resilience and sustainable food systems, not only in the country but worldwide,” said Almheiri.
Participants who attended the conference said that harmonising regulations and digitising logistical information would facilitate global food trade and improve food security for the future.
The conference showcased best practices and experiences from several countries building resilience during the pandemic.
Christopher Elliott, Professor at Queens University in Belfast, said: “I believe in certain principals of food integrity. The food that we eat must be safe and nutritious. We must protect and respect our planet and all those people who work right across the system to put food on our plates. Science, technology and engineering are going to have a massive role in our future food system,” said.
“We have to think of regenera
We have improved our technological abilities and cooperated with countries to build a global sustainable food system.” mariam bint mohammed Saeed Hareb almheiri Minister of Food Security
tive agriculture and get our soil health back. We must have a transparent food supply system – to know how, where and who is producing our food. We must have digitisation or digital platforms to track where our food comes from. We have to create a digital trace by connecting different supply chains. It’s all about collecting large amounts of data to identify problems and deal with them early before it causes a crisis,” he added.
Issues like climate change with massive crop failures, catastrophic weather events, ageing population of farmers all amid the Covid-19 crisis was also high on the agenda. Researchers conceded that harnessing the use of advanced technologies in agricultural production is the way forward.
refining risk management
The pandemic has shown us that food systems — those who make and deliver foods — are essential frontline services, said Prof Robyn Alders, honorary professor with the Development Policy Centre within the Australian National University. “We have seen local value chains coming to life contributing significantly to food and nutrition security. Authorities need to monitor local crises and be warned early. Therefore, there is an imminent need to refine risk communication.”