From salmon to quinoa, UAE seeks to quadruple food production

Feeding time at a Dubai fish farm. The UAE wants to boost food production at home. (Supplied)

• UAE and Israel discuss desert cultivation
• Pandemic focuses attention on food security

RIYADH: The UAE could quadruple food production within a decade, Minister of State for Food and Water Security Mariam Al-Mheiri, said in an interview with Asharq Business.
“Realistically, we are looking to increase our domestic production to about 30 to 40 percent of our food needs in the next ten years,” compared to 10 percent now, as the country imports 90 percent of its food,” she said.
“We know very well that relying on global food supplies is not a good thing,” she added.
Rapidly rising global food prices and disrupted supply chains due to the coronavirus pandemic have encouraged Gulf states such as the UAE to grow more crops and keep more livestock.
Al-Mheiri said the plan would require major investment the projected increase of the UAR population which is currently about 10 million.
The country has already made progress in terms of quinoa cultivation and salmon farming, she said.
Al-Mheiri urged all seven emirates in the country to consider what technology companies could offer to boost food production.
The minister also revealed that the UAE was conducting “extensive discussions” about agriculture with Israel, after the normalization of relations between the two countries last year.
“Israel and the UAE enjoy a similar climate in terms of desert and water scarcity,” she explained.