Abu Dhabi – The UAE Office for Future Food Security and holding company Masdar (the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company) said this Monday (30) that they have entered into a strategic partnership agreement designed to improve food security in the country, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.
Abu Dhabi – The UAE Office for Future Food Security and holding company Masdar (the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company) said this Monday (30) that they have entered into a strategic partnership agreement designed to improve food security int eh country, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.
Food security is a key concern of Arab countries, especially Gulf ones. Since their climate is extremely arid, they sustain a food production deficit, and largely rely on imports, which make them vulnerable to international stockpile and price fluctuations.
WAM said the two organizations will undertake joint efforts to increase food security in the country.
The holding company Masdar operates in the areas of alternative energy and sustainability and, according to the UAE minister of State for Food Security, Mariam Almheiri (left in the picture above), is a natural partner given its experience in the area. She pointed out that food security is a main concern of the UAE government.
Masdar’s CEO, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi (right, in the picture), added that Masdar City, a sustainable model city in Abu Dhabi, already is a successful testing ground for research in sustainable food production. The researches include vertical agricultural production and household production.
The agreement signed between the two organizations stipulates the development of initiatives linked exactly to these two experiences: the pilot project of a vertical “farm” using containers and the “smart” domestic production. The latter is part of a project by Masdar called Eco-Villa, which aims to be a model of a household that is affordable and highly efficient in the use of water and energy.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum and Sérgio Kakitani
