The Food for Future Summit comprises several key tracks, including the Global Leaders\u2019 Symposium, which has brought together international ministerial delegations and leading executives from non-profit organisations worldwide to explore new solutions to enhancing food security.<\/p>\n
In her opening address at the Symposium, Her Excellency Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said: \u201cFor the first time in the MENA region, we are coming together to initiate dialogue at all levels to accelerate the global transition towards sustainable food systems. Over the next two days, we will explore new solutions and approaches to the most pressing food security challenges the world faces, and how we can come together as one global community to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.\u201d<\/p>\n
She went on to underline how the UAE is setting a leading global example through its ambitious policy agendas, aimed at building public-private partnerships and enabling AgTech innovations that will shape the future of food.<\/p>\n
Ban Ki-moon, the 8th UN Secretary-General, followed Her Excellency by stressing how the world faces an urgent need to drive climate action, agricultural adaptation, and sustainable livelihoods if it is to cope with a projected 50% rise in global food demand by 2050.<\/p>\n
In a virtual address, Ban Ki-moon, now Co-chair of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens in Vienna, told delegates that central food production is now \u201cthe nexus of hunger, poverty, biodiversity, and climate change\u201d and warned \u201cif we do not take action in time, agricultural yields will likely decrease by 30%\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cSupporting smallholder farmers is needed more than ever to address the growing population, the increase in demand for food, and to make food systems sustainable and resilient. Currently, smallholders only receive 1.7% of total climate finance,\u201d he explained, adding that while global smallholder farmers need an estimated USD 240 billion a year in finance support, they received USD 10 billion in 2018, signalling the need for a \u2018people first\u2019 approach to food ecosystems and climate change.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, a riveting panel discussion titled \u2018Good food for all \u2013 food as a connector for health and climate\u2019 featured some of the most influential global leaders and policymakers, including Martien Van Nieuwkoop, Global Director, Agriculture and Food at the World Bank Group, and Ismael Roig, President EMEA at ADM, the world\u2019s premier agricultural origination and processing company. The session highlighted the critical connection between climate change and health, and its impact on food security.<\/p>\n
Addressing the Symposium, Van Nieuwkoop said: \u201cGovernments need to fundamentally rethink their policies and put in place bold action. The world will need food for two billion more people by 2050, and yet the global food system is facing the headwinds of climate emergency, food insecurity, and growing hunger \u2013 the numbers are moving in the wrong direction. With one-third of all agricultural production lost to waste every year, equating to more than USD 1 trillion annually, we need to work seriously to address food production and waste. If this can be resolved, we would achieve a win-win situation of reducing greenhouse emissions while improving food security. There are big challenges in current food systems that are simply not fit for purpose, so it is vital governments go beyond the business-as-usual approach and put in place global food systems that support healthy people, the planet, and economies moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roig added: \u201cIn terms of supply, we currently have a very polarised world, and it has been evolving in this direction for a number of years. The Western Hemisphere is a net surplus provider of commodities \u2013 about 300 to 400 million tonnes of perennials, such as grains and oilseeds \u2013 while the Middle East, Africa, and Asia are net recipients of commodities. This polarisation is exasperating itself, and there is no significant new source of production outside of the current mega producers to substantially change the equation. We need to find new ways of ensuring we create more product origination centres around the world. We must find solutions to the perennial crop equation, and to non-perennials, such as fruits, vegetables and so on. The local agriculture boom in Dubai and the wider UAE is a very good example of the competitive advantages which can be achieved by producing more food locally while actively exploring other product areas that might depend on global origination due to competitive costing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Furthermore, a delegation of eight African ministers underscored the vision of Africa in the 21st century as well as the significance of global agri-trade business facilitation, adoption of advanced tech-enabled food production, food risks, and crisis management.<\/p>\n
First in the Region <\/strong><\/p>\n The event marks a first-in-the region partnership for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) and the Committee on World Food Security (CFS). The partnership has yielded the launch of the MENA Agri-Food Innovation Days to enhance engagement of the public and private sectors, academia, and civil society in driving the required transformation of the region\u2019s food and agricultural systems.<\/p>\n The carefully developed programme sheds light on impending global challenges, such as water scarcity, fertile land degradation, and climate change, placing additional pressures on the fragile agricultural ecosystems in the region. The sessions provide a forum for exchange of knowledge and best practices and promote innovation and technology adoption to improve capabilities to adapt the region\u2019s food systems to be more productive, resilient, inclusive, and sustainable.<\/p>\n \u201cThe future of the agrifood systems will define humanity\u2019s future and the region\u2019s food and agriculture future. Agrifood systems start from the ground, not from the factory. If it starts from the soil, it will definitely have an impact on the environment. If we don\u2019t address the soil, water, and rivers properly, there will be no base for agriculture and no highly qualified agricultural raw materials. That is why agrifood systems are very important for defining the future of humanity in the region,\u201d said AbdulHakimElwaer, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa.<\/p>\n \u201cThe transformation of agrifood systems is a regional priority and at the core of FAO\u2019s mandate, and harnessing the power of innovation and digital technologies is a key enabler for our food systems to become more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive. For this, we need to promote policy coherence within and among countries, promote innovation and digital technologies, and strengthen international governance mechanisms,\u201d added Elwaer.<\/p>\n Making it Happen <\/strong><\/p>\n Running alongside the MENA Agri-Food Innovation Days and the Global Leaders\u2019 Symposium is the Making it Happen conference, bringing real-life examples of innovation- and technology-enhanced food, agriculture, and supply chain solutions and best practices to the fore.<\/p>\n Influential local, regional, and global brands and organisations taking the stage to discuss their roles in tackling global food security and safety challenges include Nestl\u00e9, Siemens, Cargill, Hilton, McKinsey, Bateel International, Fisheries Development Oman, Emirates Nature-WWF, and the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA).<\/p>\n Meanwhile, empowering the community to drive change is the Generation Food stage, which is hosting a range of workshops spanning different topics related to food for the future global population. Sessions include a chefs\u2019 training on plant-based nutrition led by Nestl\u00e9 and a workshop guiding students to think creatively to solve food for future related challenges, run by UAE-based social enterprise Goumbook.<\/p>\n \u00a0A Global Movement for Change <\/strong><\/p>\n Over 100 global leaders, more than 140 exhibitors, and 50 start-ups from over 60 countries are participating in the Food for Future Summit & Expo \u2013 the first global gathering of the end-to-end food security ecosystem \u2013 united in a bid to thrash out a radical new approach to attaining a foodsecure world.<\/p>\n The Summit and its sister Global Agtech Expo are hosted by MOCCAE in partnership with FAO. The important dialogue continues on Thursday with key sessions, including a panel discussion titled \u2018Funding Agtech&Foodtech Innovation \u2013 Fuelling Youth and Women Empowerment\u2019, a session on \u2018Past, Present and Future of Urban Agriculture\u2019, \u2018Driving Food Security with Nutrition Security\u2019, and more.<\/p>\n
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