Abu Dhabi comprises around 84% of the UAE’s landmass, making the emirate integral to national agricultural output and food security. The UAE has been working to strengthen its agriculture sector for a number of years, and the socio-economic stresses brought upon by the Covid-19 pandemic have served to reinforce the country’s resolve in that respect.
Multiple initiatives are under way in Abu Dhabi that seek to leverage the spectrum of approaches to develop food production systems that can support the nutritional needs of the population. Significant investment is being made to reinforce supply and value chains, with major new government-owned entities and physical and digital infrastructure developments launched over the course of recent years.
The knock-on effects of the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have caused governments to reassess best practices for developing and protecting national food security in an industry that had become increasingly globalised in the years preceding 2020. While localising supply chains appears to be the order of the day, an international, collaborative approach to formulating strategies is also being taken, with the UAE and Abu Dhabi’s resources, geographic location and pressing requirements placing both the country and emirate central to that discussion.
Federal Oversight
In 2016 the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water’s mandate was expanded and its name altered to reflect its new responsibilities. The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MCCAE) has since taken a leading role in working towards the UAE’s climate-related targets, with environmental and agricultural goals such as food and water security core to its remit. In March 2023 the MCCAE launched the National Dialogue for Food Security, held periodically, to bring together industry stakeholders to review and formulate strategies for national food systems.
In terms of food safety, the MCCAE operates under the guidance of Federal Law No. 10 of 2015 on Food Safety to ensure appropriate sanitary measures are applied and enforced at every stage of the food production, storage and distribution process, including produce for import and export, aligning the UAE’s processes with international best practices.
Abu Dhabi Oversight
In 2019 the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, the Abu Dhabi Farmers’ Services Centre and the Food Security Centre – Abu Dhabi were dissolved and their duties absorbed by a new government entity, the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA). ADAFSA is the primary authority for agriculture, food safety, food security and biosecurity, formulating and implementing relevant initiatives, programmes and regulations, and enforcing federal laws and policies. Licence issuance also falls within ADAFSA’s remit, as does strengthening partnerships with the private sector and investment funds to drive growth in the emirate’s agriculture sector.
Strategies
The federal and emirate governments are leveraging considerable financial resources to achieve their agricultural targets and tackle structural challenges in the sector. These include water scarcity, resulting from desert climate and topography; a reliance on imports for 90% of the country’s nutritional supply; and the fact that 5% of its total landmass is arable land. In addition, recent and ongoing global socio-economic and geopolitical crises have impacted many aspects of the food supply chain, with Abu Dhabi-based Emirates Food Industries reporting spikes of 200-300% in shipping costs towards the end of 2021.
The National Food Security Strategy 2051 was launched by the federal government in November 2018. Its overarching goals target the top position in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual Global Food Security Index by the close of the strategy’s timeframe. In the 2022 iteration of the index, the UAE placed 23rd – the highest rank of any MENA country.
Other core goals of the strategy involve harnessing technology to develop a comprehensive and sustainable national food production system, boosting local production volume, forging local and international partnerships to diversify food supply chains, and devising policy frameworks and awareness campaigns to improve national nutrition and reduce food waste. Around 38 short- and long-term initiatives will be implemented during the strategy’s lifecycle.
The National Farms Sustainability Initiative is being rolled out to drive progress towards the goals of the aforementioned strategy. The MCCAE announced in June 2023 that it had formed a task force that will implement the initiative, focus on regulating procurement and compile a comprehensive database of local produce. The UAE government plans for local produce to account for 50% of its spending on agricultural products by the end of 2023, with that share rising to 70% by 2025 and 100% by 2030. To achieve this, the task force will work to improve linkages in local food value chains, with the end goal of improving farmers’ livelihoods. The task force secured its first deal in August 2023, announcing that it had facilitated a $136m agreement that will see local produce supplied to key government entities over a five-year period.
In April 2023 it was announced that 71 economic activities would be permitted on agricultural land to enable revenue diversification for farmers. The list includes activities identified to boost commercial activity related to plants, livestock, foodstuffs and tourism (see Tourism & Culture chapter).
At the emirate level, ADAFSA launched its plan for sustainable agriculture in November 2021. Given the energy-intensive nature of the sector, lowering emissions is a core component of both agriculture-specific strategies and the UAE’s broader pledge to achieve netzero emissions by 2050 (see Energy chapter). Under the plan, ADAFSA has mandated that all Abu Dhabi farmers adopt smart farming techniques and methods. To enable this transition, agriculture-related technological innovation and localisation are being prioritised by the Abu Dhabi government to conserve vital resources and inputs and boost agricultural production.
In 2019 the Abu Dhabi government announced a new tax and incentives fund valued at $272m that is designed to attract agricultural technology (agri-tech) companies to the emirate. The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), for its part, has provided over $150m in funding to assist agri-tech start-ups since 2020.
At the same time, new public entities are being formed and mobilised to support and guide the transition for agricultural communities. Climate-smart methods include growing more climate-resilient crops and water-, space- and energy-efficient techniques such as vertical farming and drip irrigation.
Abu Dhabi’s top academic institutions and scholars are working on innovations that seek to ease the emirate’s food and water supply constraints, while local farmers are being urged to use recycled and desalinated water and more modern irrigation systems.
The severe disruption to local and international supply chains induced by the pandemic and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine has seen governments sharpen their focus on food supply and production. ADAFSA is in the process of implementing its 2022-25 strategic plan, which was launched in July 2022. The roadmap is designed to stimulate increased food production and reinforce the sector’s contribution to GDP. Boosting food self-sufficiency is a core goal of the strategy, with the emirate announcing in 2022 that it had reached the milestone of becoming 84% self-sufficient in nine separate food categories. The authority aims to build on that by strengthening partnerships within the sector and further harnessing advanced technologies to maximise output and efficiency.
Attracting foreign direct investment is key to reaching the goals outlined in ADAFSA’s strategies and initiatives. In 2021-22 the authority forged investment partnerships that resulted in the initiation of 13 development projects valued at a combined Dh1.2bn ($326.6m). In its “Agricultural Investment Manual” for 2021-22, compiled in collaboration with ADIO, ADAFSA lists criteria that proposed projects will be measured against – such as the size of the investment, its contribution to national priorities, how it supports local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and supplementary industries, and its use of advanced technologies – in order to qualify for a range of business incentives. In the aforementioned manual, ADAFSA lists 54 targeted investment fields across the crop, livestock, fisheries and logistics segments.
Size & Performance
According to the most recent annual statistical report published by ADAFSA, Abu Dhabi had 24,018 farms in 2019, covering a total area of 749,868 donums (750 sq km). Al Ain – historically the main agricultural area of the emirate – was home to 50% of the farms and 60% of the agricultural land. Al Dhafra, meanwhile, accounted for 35% of farms and 28% of the land used for agriculture, and the Abu Dhabi Municipality comprised 15% of farms and 12% of agricultural land. The total area of agricultural land listed by ADAFSA in 2019 appears to correlate with data from Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi (SCAD) pertaining to crop-yielding farms for the same year. SCAD displays corresponding figures for later years. In 2022 the emirate’s crop-yielding farms accounted for 773,397 donums (773 sq km), which was unchanged from the previous year. According to SCAD, the total catch recorded by Abu Dhabi fisheries weighed 1223 tonnes in 2022, down 7.2% from 2021. Meanwhile, the number of livestock holdings was 24,748 in 2021 – the last year for which SCAD displayed data for that category – 1.4% lower than in 2020.
In terms of value and productivity, the latest government data, issued in 2022, covers 2020. Abu Dhabi’s agricultural produce achieved a value of Dh13.7bn ($3.7bn) that year, 12% higher than in 2019 and indicative of a 6.5% compound annual growth rate since 2017. Total productivity in 2020 amounted to 707,774 tonnes, comprising 421,524 tonnes of crops, or 59.6% of the total, and 286,250 tonnes of animal produce (40.4%). By volume, Abu Dhabi’s animal produce was composed of cow milk (58%), poultry (18%), eggs (15%) and red meat (9%). Dates, which are traditionally the UAE’s largest crop, accounted for 61% of plant production in 2020, while other fruits and vegetables produced in high volumes that year include tomato, cabbage, cauliflower, aubergine, squash, bougainvillea, tropical hibiscus, mango and citrus fruits.
According to SCAD, the resurgence in economic activity in 2021 following Covid-19 lockdowns saw Abu Dhabi’s agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector undergo growth of 25.1% in real terms. In light of the exceptional circumstances created by the pandemic and its immediate aftermath, the sector’s expansion slowed considerably moving in 2022, averaging 2.2% y-o-y expansion on a quarterly basis.
That level of growth was maintained heading into 2023, with the sector recording 2.1% y-o-y growth in the first quarter of the year. Between the first quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2023 agriculture, forestry and fisheries activities contributed a combined 0.8% to real GDP (see Economy chapter).
Sovereign Mobilization
Abu Dhabi’s third-largest sovereign wealth fund, ADQ, is strengthening its role in the emirate’s food security drive, making multiple significant investments to that end. A major development came in September 2020, when ADQ founded Silal, an entity designed to work alongside local farmers to diversify crops and food production and boost local food-manufacturing activity. The company also focuses on enhancing procurement systems management and reinforcing strategic food stocks.
In November 2021 Silal announced it was in the process of investing Dh200m ($54m) in 80 local farms to raise productivity and the quality of local produce. Silal is working to upskill farmers and equip them with smart-irrigation and crop-monitoring systems, as well as greenhouses and net houses, with the company stating in 2021 that it intends to extend the initiative’s target number of farms. In 2023 Silal announced that it would establish a 14,000-sq-metre automated packaging complex and a research and development (R&D) facility, both of which will be located in Al Ain.
AgTech Park
In March 2023 ADQ opened its inaugural facility at its AgTech Park, which has been integrated into the ecosystem of the Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi in Al Ain. The 1000-sq-metre vertical farm was launched in partnership with ZERO, an Italian agri-tech company. The partner entities stated at the time of the launch that the farm is expected to produce fresh food at a rate of around 10 tonnes per year at the proof-ofconcept stage, which was scheduled to conclude at the close of the third quarter of 2023. The project will then be scaled to 40,000 sq metres and incorporate other controlled-environment farming projects.
Once fully operational, ADQ’s AgTech Park is set to span some 200 ha and produce up to 40,000 tonnes of fresh produce per year. That would account for roughly 6% of the UAE’s total food consumption and approximately 12% of the equivalent produce that it imports, helping to reduce the food import bill.
This followed the February 2023 launch of US-based AeroFarms’ 6000-sq-metre vertical farm in the emirate, which will specialise in agriculture-related R&D. Together, these developments will enable the emirate to harness vertical farming’s capacity to produce up to 10 times more than traditional farming methods.
In spite of the progress being made by entities such as Silal, integrating small-scale farmers into sophisticated digital systems presents challenges due to their fragmented geographic placement – and, in many cases, their lack of, or potential resistance to, digital infrastructure. Nonetheless, these new initiatives are expected to significantly improve food supply in the UAE and provide new opportunities for smaller agricultural and food-related businesses.
“Local SMEs thrive in an open market, but the food sector’s nature demands volume and scale,” Hassan Safi, CEO of Al Ain Farms, told OBG. “For SMEs to truly succeed, they must collaborate with dominant players that align with the national vision. Indeed, the food industry requires patience. It is characterised by high investment and measured returns,” he added.
Abu Dhabi Food Hub
In another major development in Abu Dhabi’s ongoing food security and self-sufficiency drive, KEZAD Group, under its parent company AD Ports Group, is set to launch the Abu Dhabi Food Hub – KEZAD in the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi through a joint venture with regional conglomerate Ghassan Aboud Group. The 3.3-sq-km facility will encompass five food industry clusters focusing on trade, logistics, wholesale, retail, and education and training. The Abu Dhabi Food Hub will also house dedicated Customs and food control units.
The development is designed to provide an integrated centre to cater to traders of all types of food, and while the Abu Dhabi Food Hub’s ownership does not yet plan to invest directly in local businesses, its wholesale arm incorporates a farmers’ market, and processing, packaging and distribution services will be offered to agriculture businesses, helping to stimulate growth along the wider food-related value chain.
Supply Chains
Supply chain challenges in agriculture predate Covid-19, with market analysis deficiencies throughout the value chain having been cited as a primary factor behind excessive wastage. “The fresh egg industry in the UAE is valued at around Dh1bn ($272.2m), yet annual wastage along the supply chain amounts to around one-fifth of that,” Wasfi Kaso, CEO of Emirates Food Industries, told OBG. “That is a fair reflection of the market more broadly,” he added. While food wastage is a serious socio-economic concern, finding solutions to the problem presents significant opportunities for qualified companies and investors.
In addition to solutions oriented around advanced digital and physical infrastructure, such as that of the Abu Dhabi Food Hub, practical changes to industry norms are also actively being discussed among wholesalers. These include growing and producing foods closer to their intended market, relying more heavily on local produce as opposed to imported food, and engaging the public through awareness campaigns on the role individuals can play in reducing food and energy wastage by altering their consumption patterns.
Outlook
Abu Dhabi’s agriculture sector is undergoing sweeping transformation, with effective solutions being implemented at crucial stages along the entire food value chain. Collaboration between public and private entities is helping to drive this change, as is increased cooperation between large and small food-related enterprises in the emirate. The pressing need for higher levels of local production, more efficient distribution and supply chain management, and lasting import and export partnerships make the UAE’s and Abu Dhabi’s agriculture and food production sector an interesting proposition for international investors, aided by continued improvements to investment legislation (see Trade & Investment chapter). The Abu Dhabi government’s focus on agri-tech development and implementation offers start-ups an enticing entry point into the industry, with the emirate keen to harness its most innovative minds to meet the nutritional needs of its population and drive sector growth.
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