Agriculture

    UAE-led weather warning project to reach 100 million farmers by 2030

    A UAE initiative that gives advance warning of bad weather, pest outbreaks and other risks aims to reach 100 million farmers by 2030, it was announced at the Cop30 climate summit. The Agricultural Innovation Mechanism for Scale (Aim for Scale) project could improve yields and help farmers, especially those in poorer regions, to cope with the […]

    Fixing diets could cut farming emissions by 15% and avoid 15 million deaths a year, report finds

    Scientists warn that without major changes to what we eat, climate targets will be missed. About 15 million deaths could be avoided each year and agricultural emissions could drop by 15 per cent if people worldwide shift to healthier, predominantly plant-based diets, according to the EAT-Lancet Commission. The latest report brought together scientists worldwide to review […]

    Farming the unfarmable: How microbes are reviving life in desert soils, research shows new hope for arid agriculture

    In dry, degraded soil, it’s easy to assume life has gone quiet. But underground, a different story unfolds—one of continuous exchange between plant roots and microbial communities that shape each other in subtle but powerful ways. A new paper, co-authored by researchers from American University of Sharjah (AUS) and published in Science, one of the […]

    Bigger crops, fewer nutrients: The hidden cost of climate change

    New preliminary research suggests that a combination of higher atmospheric CO2 and hotter temperatures contribute to a reduction in nutritional quality in food crops, with serious implications for human health and wellbeing. Most research into the impact of climate change on food production has focused on crop yield, but the size of the harvest means little […]

    Abu Dhabi’s ADQ to focus on vegetable gene editing as it seeks stake in seeds company

    ADQ, Abu Dhabi’s wealth fund, plans to acquire a 35 per cent stake in France’s Limagrain Vegetable Seeds as the UAE enters a research-intensive phase to transform farming and reduce reliance on food imports. As part of the deal, ADQ’s agritech company Silal and Limagrain Vegetable Seeds plan to establish a research and development partnership […]

    Grow more with less: Al Dahra chief plots global growth from the ground up

    Arnoud Van den Berg, group chief executive of Al Dahra, is a man on a mission: to turn one of the Middle East’s leading agribusinesses into the world’s largest irrigated farming platform. From the company’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi, Mr Van den Berg is leading a strategy of expansion, technology adoption, and sustainable transformation rooted in the […]

    Environment minister sets out green goals as national agriculture centre and museum are launched

    The Minister of Climate Change and the Environment has set out the UAE’s green vision, supported by the launch of an agriculture hub to help develop a fresh crop of farmers and bolster food security, and a museum celebrating farming history. Dr Amna Al Dahak told The National about moves to champion home-grown produce as the Emirates […]

    Inside the UAE’s plant biobank: the green heart of conservation in the desert

    Tucked away on the outskirts of Al Ain, scientists at the UAE’s Plant Genetic Resource Centre – part seed vault, part futuristic lab – are working to safeguard the botanical future of a nation better known for its desert sands than its native flora. The centre, run by the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, is not just a […]

    China-UAE Dh120 million AgriTech megaproject to launch in Al Ain

    A Dh120 million AgriTech hub, measuring 100,000 square metres, has been announced for Al Ain. The project is a collaboration between Silal, an Abu Dhabi-based agri-food and technology company, and Shouguang Vegetable Industry Group (SVG), a Chinese firm specialising in vegetable seed breeding and counter-seasonal production. The signing of the deal was witnessed at the Make it […]

    Tokenizing the tree of life: Olive blockchain project sprouts in Dubai

    A bold vision to connect ancient agriculture with cutting-edge blockchain technology has been unveiled in the Middle East. At an invite only event held at the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the Global Olive Corporation (GOC) revealed its plan to tokenize 100 million olive trees worldwide, starting with a million already planted across Georgia. “This is the […]