1. 14 Arab Agriculture 2017
Editorial
T
he countries in Middle East have
responsibly taken up agriculture
and allied activities in their
national development plans and
have invested in strategic agribusiness
areas. These countries are dependent
on food imports and this trend will
continue primarily triggered by their
limited natural resource availability and
adverse climatic condition unfavorable
for agriculture. However, in spite of
these constraints these countries are
working out strategies to combat climate
change and adapt to the challenges.
Food security today not only involves
production, supply, transport, food
handling and management, but also
quantity and quality of consumption at
the end use of the supply chain. Overall,
nutritional value in foods consumed is
an issue that needs enormous attention
as the changes in food consumption
patterns have to lead to health concerns
like increase in rates of diabetes and
obesity. Trends like producing high-
value agricultural products, organic
farming, hydroponics, green house/
covered agriculture are catching up
in the region. Finding sustainable
alternatives like reducing water and
energy consumption, producing fresh
water through desalinization, treating
wastewater for agricultural reuse and
to manage natural resources is critical.
Right policy framework, developing
markets, improvement in logistics and
storage, saving water resources, new
technology development, building
research capacities, and capacity
development are areas of interest.
In United Arab Emirates (UAE), the
population has increased from 1.5
million in the 1970s to more than 9.3
million in 2017. This puts pressure on
the limited internal food supply of the
country, and added to the annual bill
for imported food to more than US$1.5
billion. According to the World Bank,
Agriculture contributed to only 0.7 %
of UAE’s GDP in 2015. UAE has come up
with its first national agricultural policy
with a view to making agriculture more
environmentally sustainable, efficient
and profitable. The policy is made in
alignment with the country’s Vision 2021
plan,which aims at improving the welfare
of UAE citizens, and making UAE one of
the world’s leading countries.It promotes
better use of the country’s limited natural
resources, mainly water, as renewable
water is scarce and rising sea levels are
increasing groundwater salinity. The
policy focuses on making the agrifood
system more efficient, profitable,
environmentally sustainable and
resilient to climate change.The objective
is to ensure the availability of diverse
agricultural products, ensuring the
safety and quality of local and imported
foods,strengthening producers’capacity
to add value along the food chain and
having risk management mechanisms in
Agribusiness in Middle East region
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2. 15Arab Agriculture 2017
place.The policy also looks at improving
knowledge and national data on critical
issueslikewaterconsumption,increasing
thelevelofawarenessamongfarmersand
consumers in the areas of sustainability
and ensuring effective coordination and
implementation of the agricultural policy
at all levels. This will help enable policy
environment for effective investments
and provide insights into monitoring,
evaluation and learning. Measures like
replacement of production subsidies
that distort markets with smart subsidies,
installing water meters on farms and
incentivizing farmers to save water can
help this resource sensitive area to adapt
to the challenges. More can be done to
help farmers identify markets; invest in
appropriate technologies and improve
production of high-value food products.
Fishing is another area that holds good
opportunity to contribute towards food
security. According to the Ministry of
Economy, the UAE contributes 75,000
tonnes of fish per year. The UAE leads
regional per-capita consumption
rankings at 24 kg per year which almost
5 kg higher than the global average.The
Globally Important Agricultural Heritage
Systems (GIAHS) initiative designated
Al Ain and Liwa oasis as models of
historical agricultural systems and palm
groves and in March 2015 added it to the
growing number of ecosystems. Food
wastage is an important area of concern.
TheGulfCooperationCouncilnationsare
considered as one of the top regions in
creating food wastage.According to Abu
Dhabi Waste Management Centre, one-
third of the UAE’s total waste comes from
food remains. Recycling much of that
waste for animal feed and composting
can solve a part of the problem.In Dubai,
38% of the daily consumed food is
wasted,while in Abu Dhabi 33% of waste
generated each year is food.
The pioneering food security strategy of
Kuwait is reflected in its achievement of
theMillenniumDevelopmentGoalstarget
of halving the number and proportion of
undernourished people in the country.
With a sharp decline in oil prices and
increasing youth unemployment, Kuwait
is considering ways of transforming its
economy from being less dependent
on oil profits. The region is suffering
from extreme summer temperature,
which reached 54 degree Celsius last
year (2016) along with adversities like
seasonal shifts and decline in rainfall.
According to theWorld Bank,Agriculture
contributed to only 0.631 % of Kuwait’s
GDP in 2015. About 154 000 ha have
been judged as potentially cultivable
land. Around 90 percent of Kuwait’s land
is considered not agriculturally viable.
The agricultural areas are located in
Wari the south of Kuwait, Al-Abdali in
the north of Kuwait and Al-Sulaibiya in
the center. Natural water resources are
minimal, presently desalinated seawater
and brackish groundwater is utilized
for agriculture. Though supplemental
irrigation has contributed to increase
in agricultural production and greenery
development in Kuwait, it adversely
affected the long- term sustainability
and has resulted in the degradation of
land and water resources in the country.
Since Agriculture in Kuwait is limited
due to scarce availability of water and
arable land, so Kuwait is aiming at
enhancing the country’s rich aquaculture
and water sectors. Structural challenges
relating to high population growth and
changing patterns in food consumption
has led to a heavy reliance on imported
food. External factors like global and
regional developments like volatility
in global food prices, fluctuations in
world food supplies, effects of climate
change, political instability, conflicts
and war along with Internal factors like
political challenges , food programmes
and agricultural subsidies are areas
of strategic importance to the country.
Climate change adaptation is inevitable
as it is linked to water availability,
livelihood, food security, health and
wellbeing. Since, Kuwait is dependent
on food, imports the country is focusing
on food security via improved logistics.
Livestock production is an important
component of the agricultural sector
and contributes about 67 percent to
total agricultural GDP, as compared to
23 percent for plant production and
10 percent for fisheries. Many projects
are planned currently in the next
few years in areas of fisheries, water,
management, animal production, animal
health, technical capacity development
etc. for achieving food security and
Editorial
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3. 16 Arab Agriculture 2017
agricultural development. In a recent
effort,Kuwait has released 165,000 fishes
into territorial waters to enhance food
security aiming to increase fish stocks.
The country has engaged in efforts to
cut water consumption while improving
nutrition and food security in the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
The Qatar National Food Security
Programme (QNFSP) was developed
in line with the principles of the Qatar
National Vision 2030 with its focus
on people, community, economy
and environmental development.
QNFSP’s objective is to develop a
sustainable food security policy for
Qatar by increasing and enhancing
domestic agricultural production, and
strengthening the reliability of food
imports. The Programme will use solar
desalination of seawater, which will then
be used for its agricultural production.
Qatar plans to diversify its economy
while preserving its natural resources
to ultimately achieve food security. Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has
a Country Programming Framework
2013-2016, which focuses on three
priority areas for technical cooperation.
These are strategic planning and
policy development, enhancement of
agricultural and fisheries productivity
and production of safe and nutritious
food, development, conservation and
sustainable management of natural
resources and environmental protection.
According to theWorld Bank, Agriculture
contributed to only 0.2% of Qatar’s GDP
in 2015. Qatar is working on two Agro-
cluster projects covering intensive
poultry,dairy,sheep and goat production
facilities, animal feed milling units and
greenhouses.In 2015,Qatar published its
first national dietary guidelines as part of
itsNationalHealthStrategy.Qatarisoneof
the very few countries to have integrated
dietary approaches by aligning health
with sustainability objectives. The Qatar
guidelines include “eat healthy while
protecting the environment” as one
of the eight guidelines. Sustainability
is included in the recommendations,
describing some of the ways food is
linked to the environment (land and
water use, GHG emissions, solid waste
disposal, depletion of fish stocks).
Furthermore, the guidelines highlight
that the Qatar National Development
Strategyhasidentifiedshortagesinwater,
low arable land, solid waste generation
and depletion of fish stock as serious
concerns. There are recommendations
on how to plan meals and shop to reduce
over consumption and food waste,and to
aim for a plant-based diet, to consume
fewer processed foods, and to pay
attention to packaging.
Saudi Arabia implemented the 2007
Government decree to completely
terminate wheat cultivation by the
end of the 2016 by gradually reducing
wheat production quotas and purchase
programmes for registered farmers. The
measure reflected strong concern over
the depletion of local water reserves,
which were used to irrigate wheat
production. However, some farmers
reportedly switched from wheat to
forage crops, which consume more
water than wheat.It is also implementing
a three-year phase-out plan to terminate
the local production of green fodder by
2019. The Saudi Government estimates
that the termination of green fodder
production would save about 7 billion
cubic meters of water annually.With only
1.5 % of the land is arable in Saudi Arabia
and water scarcity issues, Saudi Arabia
is increasingly dependent on imported
food to meet the needs of its population
needs. There has been a 54% decrease
in the estimated total cereal production
for 2015 compared to 2014 production.
Saudi Arabia market accounts for 64%
of GCC total food consumption in 2015.
In 2015, Saudi Arabia had a total food
consumption of 32.9 million MT, of
which 54.4% where cereals. Food and
agricultural imports account for 15% of
all imports in Saudi Arabia.Barley,wheat,
rice,chickenandsheep constituteSaudi’s
top food imports;with 80 per cent of food
requirements imported. Key bilateral
trading partners for Saudi Arabia are
Ukraine, Russia, India, and Pakistan.
Government efforts and unwavering
commitment in the Middle East have
produced positive results. According
to the findings of the 2016 Global Food
Security Index (GFSI) Qatar, the UAE,
and Kuwait were the top performing
GCC countries in the Affordability
category. Qatar landed the first slot in
the world, followed by the UAE in the
third place and Kuwait at the sixth place.
All three are high-income countries with
a low prevalence of poverty and plenty
of public money flowing into their small
agricultural sectors have contributed
food affordability across the states. More
can be done on areas of food availability,
safety and quality in Middle East.
The region is doing its part by being
major donor states for international
development and humanitarian efforts.
Efforts are required to improve nutrition
levels, contribute to food security and
curb water consumption in Middle
East countries. Agricultural and
technological innovations can definitely
fight challenges. The region needs an
environmentally sustainable as well
as efficient and profitable agro-food
systems and the creation of an enabling
environment for agribusiness and
prosperity.
Editorial
Kuwait Qatar Saudi Arabia
United
Arab
Emirates
Kuwait Qatar Saudi Arabia
United
Arab
Emirates
Kuwait Qatar
Saudi
Arabia
United
Arab
Emirates
Bananas - - - 191 191 - - - 194 194 - - - 197 197
Barley 2,860 567 13,647 118 17,192 2,000 601 11,267 125 13993 5,453 706 7,636 126 13921
Cabbages and other brassicas 14,555 1,665 6,000 12,670 34890 13,840 1,585 8,140 7,583 31148 10,686 2,234 8,800 5,120 26840
Carrots and turnips 1,186 84 57,151 9,381 67802 715 84 56,121 9,770 66690 766 99 11,449 10,159 22473
Cauliflowers and broccoli 16,381 1,289 6,890 24560 14,718 1,207 2,667 18592 11,746 1,557 3,334 16637
Cucumbers and gherkins 61,294 334 240,584 15,105 317317 52,570 142 246,986 33,874 333572 55,563 680 127,415 28,666 212324
Dates 21,880 21,843 1,031,082 221,529 1296334 31,180 31,182 1,095,158 237,864 1395384 115,213 27,482 766,800 255,182 1164677
Grapes 66 8 135,368 68 135510 96 12 134,484 66 134658 92 30 42,133 64 42319
Okra 5,534 257 46,266 1,812 53869 12,558 221 44,454 1,858 59091 5,489 260 31,330 2,025 39104
Oranges 131 - - - 131 144 - - - 144 152 - - - 152
Potatoes 45,600 24 405,680 6,937 458241 46,800 17 390,259 6,838 443914 47,545 18 445,028 6,739 499330
Pumpkins, squash and gourds 12,647 7,303 120,851 21,355 162156 16,074 6,729 119,873 5,770 148446 11,766 8,614 68,644 7,003 96027
Sorghum - - 118,393 19,997 138390 110,299 53,871 164170 265,000 76,990 341990
Strawberries 296 - - - 296 351 - - - 351 261 - - - 261
Tomatoes 7,130 11,340 549,119 35,470 603059 73,000 12,110 544,464 33,130 662704 87,707 12,748 389,698 36,041 526194
Vegetables, fresh nes 46,500 2,169 115,490 36,925 201084 47,633 2,731 114,860 20,509 185733 49,021 2,841 114,230 53,793 219885
Wheat 116 48 854,256 62 854482 180 86 660,145 88 660499 56 5 500,000 88 500149
�������������������������������������
2014
TOTAL
Production of some agricultural commodities in Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia & UAE (2012-2014); Unit: tonnes
2012 2013 2014
Items
2012
TOTAL
2013
TOTAL