High tech farming and food processing will be among the priorities for government
Opportunities in high-tech farming and in food processing and re-exporting will be among the priorities for government action towards the Abu Dhabi farm sector, the MEED Abu Dhabi 2013 conference was told on 9 December.
We have a harsh climate with limited resources, said Alaa Joma, an agriculture consultant at the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority. This makes agriculture highly challenging. Only 3 per cent of the total is arable land. Water is very scarce. We depend upon groundwater and 95 per cent of it is non-renewable.
Food consumption increased during the past decade at the rate of 6.2 per cent a year, said Joma. It is expected to grow at the rate of 4.2 per cent a year. The production base is very limited. This makes the country very dependent on imports and 82-85 per cent of its food is imported. We are a price-taker in the global market and this makes us vulnerable when there are spikes in food prices.
Joma said Abu Dhabi has 24,000 farms with a total land area of 75,000 hectares.
But these challenges open opportunities, said Joma. There is plenty of room for expanding our agricultural production in a sustainable way. This is through investing in science and technology. We are introducing stress-tolerant crops and integrated farming, and we use treated sewage effluent (TSE) as an additional source of water. We have found that high-tech green houses using hydroponics provide solutions.
The other opportunity is for investment in food processing and manufacturing, and also in supporting the positioning of the emirate as a food exporter in the region. Abu Dhabi has a very competitive advantage in the possibility of transforming itself into a logistic hub for food processing and the re-exporting of food products.
More from MEEDs Abu Dhabi Conference
- Etihad Rail plans to tender phase 3 in second half of 2014
- Abu Dhabi plans port expansion schemes
- Etihad Rail to award phase 2 before second quarter of 2014
- Adma-Opco aims for 1 million production target in 2018
- Abu Dhabi to double oil rig count over two years
- Abu Dhabi airport looking to record passenger traffic of 16 million in 2013
- Passenger numbers at Abu Dhabi airport to more than double by 2020
- Abu Dhabis Zonescorp plans further major expansions
- Next year to be Abu Dhabis year of industry
- Abu Dhabi increases focus on farming
- Abu Dhabi seeks to promote energy efficiency
- Abu Dhabi expands street signage programme with smart codes
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