The issue of food insecurity is taking center stage among pressing climate-related problems on the agenda for the United Nations COP28 summit as world leaders prepare for a global stocktake of their pledge on climate change.

With the climate conference set to take place in the Middle East – the UAE will host the summit in November – and the rising threat of food insecurity in the region, some climate experts believe that the Gulf nation, with its vast resources, technological advancement and active advocacy on the issue, can potentially lead the fight to combat food insecurity in the region.

“The UAE has the means to address the issue and can shift quickly enough to fix things, which puts them in the best position to lead the discussion on food security and actions after COP28,” Joe Battikh, a Dubai-based sustainability and climate expert with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), told Al Arabiya English.

“It is not a nation that has an abundance of food that will lead the conversation on food security, it is a country like the UAE that is dealing with it on a daily basis that can address and lead the issue.”

Food insecurity in the Middle East

The Middle East is characterized by water scarcity, volatile economies and a heavy dependency on food imports.

“These factors make the region more prone to higher levels of food insecurity,” according to the Middle East Council on Global Affairs.

The issue is further exacerbated by climate change as extreme heatwaves and droughts cause frequent crop failures.

Syrian women work in the fields in the drought-hit region of Hasaka in northeastern Syria on June 17, 2010. (File photo: AFP)

The region’s reliance on other nations for food was proven by the recent rice export ban by India. Eight days after India issued the ban, as heavy rains hit domestic crops, the UAE announced a temporary ban on exporting and reexporting various types of rice and related products. According to multiple media reports, rice prices in the region are expected to rise temporarily, with some experts estimating up to 40 percent increase.

“The fragile climate condition is decreasing the incentive for farmers to produce food, and with the conflict and fragility in many countries in the Middle East, the cost for imported goods is cheaper than the cost of pushing local production and creating the necessary infrastructure to attain food security,” Omar Farook, UN World Food Program’s climate expert in the Middle East, told Al Arabiya English.

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The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is home to approximately 6 percent of the world’s population. Still, according to a world bank estimate, it accounts for 12.2 percent of the global undernourished population. Barring a few, countries in the region face severe food insecurity with the rapidly changing climate.

Leading nations in the region, such as the UAE, can help combat food insecurity through “bilateral ties and regional treaties with different countries in the Middle East, where they can expand technology and work with local communities to address the issue,” according to Farook.

A lighthouse in the Middle East

The UAE has been taking proactive steps and actively advocating on the issue of food insecurity ahead of the climate conference. The country’s COP28 presidency has said that agriculture and food production will take center stage at the summit, with one full day dedicated to food, agriculture and water.

The UAE’s minister for climate change and environment, Mariam Almheiri – one of the leading voices on food security in the region – in June invited G20 leaders to join and sign the first ever “leader’s declaration” on agriculture, food systems and climate, at the G20 Agriculture Ministerial Meeting in India.

The Presidency, represented by Mariam Almheiri, UAE Minister for Climate Change and Environment and COP28 Food Systems Lead. (File photo)

The declaration aims to mobilize global efforts to adopt climate-smart agriculture – an approach designed to increase sustainability, climate resilience and reduce greenhouse gas emissions – to meet rising food demands and help eradicate hunger.

In July, Almheiri launched the COP28’s Food Systems and Agricultural agenda at the UN Food Systems summit in Rome to tackle food insecurity through joint national leadership, the inclusion of non-government actors such as private businesses, cities, indigenous people, academia, and boosting innovation and finance.

Other steps taken by the UAE to reduce food insecurity in the region include a joint Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) Fund launched by the UAE and the US to help prepare the agricultural sector for climate change by pledging billions of dollars in technology investment.

The Gulf country is also working with over 50 countries to promote new technologies and innovative agricultural practices to help farmers efficiently respond to climate change.

A picture shows the UAE's al-Badia Farms in Dubai, an indoor vertical farm using innovative hydroponic technology to grow fruits and vegetables all year round, on August 4, 2020. (File photo: AFP)

“The UAE can become a lighthouse in the region and say, ‘Actually you can farm in the desert. You just have to have the technology and some experts,’” Almheiri said in an interview with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in May.

When the UAE announced its national strategy on food security, “we made it a point to say that our doors are open to help other countries in the region,” she added.

Expectations and challenges

With advanced technology and massive agricultural investments, the UAE has the arsenal to lead the fight against food insecurity. However, it must ensure that rapid innovations are implemented into strategic policy decisions, which is key to achieving regional food security.

“It will need to be strategic, producing food is just one part of food system, you can produce food with the best technology, but technology is also dependent on policy,” Farook told Al Arabiya English. “You see new innovations happening everywhere but sometimes they fail to go into scale because of lack of policy.”

Sultan al-Jaber, chief executive of the UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and president of this year's COP28 climate, talks during the "UAE Climate Tech" conference in Abu Dhabi Energy centre on May 10, 2023. (File photo: AFP)

The real challenge lies in making the technology “affordable and easily adaptable by the local population,” the climate expert added.

The rise in agricultural entrepreneurship in many Gulf nations is a positive sign, but it will only yield productive results if the efforts are “pro-poor” and target those in need, according to Farook.

To successfully mitigate food insecurity, the leaders in the region will have to implement inclusive policies – one of the themes of COP28 – to aid the most vulnerable and affected population. With the world’s eyes on the UAE, the COP28 summit is the perfect opportunity to address food insecurity and scale up initiatives against climate change and rising temperatures.

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